Liverpool and Arsenal drew 0–0 at Hillsborough on 12 April 1980, leaving their FA Cup semi-final to be decided by a replay. Brian Talbot came closest to settling it when his late lob struck the crossbar, but neither side found a goal before a crowd of 50,174.
Liverpool had reached the last four without conceding in the competition. Victories over Grimsby Town, Nottingham Forest and Bury preceded a 1–0 quarter-final win at Tottenham Hotspur. They were also leading the First Division, while Arsenal were defending the FA Cup.
The semi-final produced little fluency. Liverpool's high deliveries gave Arsenal's central defenders work they could deal with, and the game remained goalless at half-time. Early in the second half, an injured Jimmy Case was replaced by David Fairclough. Sammy Nelson also went off for Arsenal, with Steve Walford coming on.
The teams would meet again at Villa Park four days later. That game finished 1–1 after extra-time, beginning a sequence of replays that eventually took the semi-final to a fourth match. At Hillsborough, the immediate result was another fixture for two sides still pursuing honours.