FA Cup semi-final draw: Manchester City handed Southampton clash, Chelsea to face old rivals Leeds at Wembley
Updated 05/04/2026 at 21:37 GMT+1
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The draw for the Emirates FA Cup semi-final has been made and Manchester City's pursuit of a possible domestic treble will see them have to overcome surprise package Southampton. In the other semi-final, Chelsea will face Leeds, in a repeat of the legendary 1970 final. The matches will be played on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April at Wembley Stadium.
Highlights: Late drama sees Southampton dump Arsenal out of FA Cup
Video credit: TNT Sports
Manchester City will face Southampton in the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley Stadium later this month, while Chelsea will take on Leeds United.
Pep Guardiola's side hammered Liverpool 4-0 in the quarter-finals and will next play the Saints, after the Championship side stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal to make the final four.
Chelsea, who hammered Port Vale 7-0 in their quarter-final tie will face Leeds, who have picked up four points against them in the Premier League this season, after they reached the semi-finals with victory on penalties in a crazy game against West Ham United.
Draw in full
- Chelsea v Leeds United
- Manchester City v Southampton
Both matches will be live on TNT Sports and HBO Max and will take place on the weekend of April 25/26.
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Highlights: Late drama sees Southampton dump Arsenal out of FA Cup
Video credit: TNT Sports
Once the kings of the competition, Chelsea won four FA Cups between 2007 and 2012 but they have only lifted it once since then and been beaten finalists four times.
Defeat at Leeds kicked off a tough December for Enzo Maresca’s Blues - the Elland Road loss followed positive performances and results against Arsenal and Barcelona.
Chelsea won just one more game against top-flight opposition before the Italian was sacked on New Year’s Day.
The Whites picked up another Premier League point at Stamford Bridge in February, meaning the last team Chelsea won the fixture was over two years ago.
But it is two FA Cup meetings 56 years ago that still defines the rivalry. This will be a rematch of the ill-tempered 1970 final, which went to a replay that was watched by 28 million people - around half the nation’s population at the time.
The only sports broadcast that had drawn higher viewing figures was the 1966 World Cup final and it was the sixth highest audience of any British broadcast at the time.
That huge audience saw a match so violent that 21st-century referee David Elleray said that he would have awarded six red cards and two yellows if he had officiated it.
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Highlights: Chelsea crumble as Leeds mount stunning second-half comeback
Video credit: TNT Sports
Leeds have only won one of their four FA Cup finals, and have been knocked out at the semi-final stage eight times.
Southampton are one of eight teams to win the FA Cup from outside the top flight and like Leeds they have reached four finals, but their semi-final record is patchier.
They first reached the final four in 1898, but they lost the replay to Nottingham Forest and have been beaten at that stage eight more times since then
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To further stack the odds against the Championship side, they have a poor recent record against Manchester City.
Southampton beat a second-string Citizens side in the Carabao Cup in 2023 but have only beaten them twice in the Premier League or FA Cup since June 2016, and suffered 13 defeats.
The Saints are also scheduled for a potential play-off six-pointer against Ipswich Town just a few days after their FA Cup semi-final.
City have a fairly even record in the latter stages of the FA Cup, having lost six times in the last four and won seven out 14 finals.
Between 1933 and 2016 they were unbeaten in eight semi-finals but they have been less metronomic since then and will be distracted by the title race.
Highlights: Late drama sees Southampton dump Arsenal out of FA Cup
Video credit: TNT Sports
You can watch every match of the Emirates FA Cup live on TNT Sports, available both live and on-demand on HBO Max.
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