FA Cup semifinals preview: Man City eyes history vs. Larin, Southampton

We’re down to the final four in the 2025-26 FA Cup. 

The quarterfinals wrapped up earlier this month, and the subsequent draw established the two semifinal matchups: Manchester City vs. Southampton and Chelsea vs. Leeds United. Both games will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium. 

All four teams have previously won the FA Cup, but in the case of Leeds United (1972) and Southampton (1975), it’s been a while. That was the only time either club have won English soccer’s oldest club competition. Manchester City’s previous FA Cup title came in 2023, while Chelsea’s last one was in 2018, and between them they’ve won it 15 times. 

Here’s what you need to know about the FA Cup and this weekend’s semifinal round.    

Single-elimination format: No replays     

Both semifinals are single elimination and not two-legged, home-and-away affairs. If a game is tied after 90 minutes of regulation time, it’ll go to extra time and penalty kicks (if necessary) to determine the winner.     

Traditionally, when an FA Cup match ended in a draw before the semifinals, teams faced each other in a replay at a later date to decide the winner. But starting last season, replays were scrapped during the proper rounds of the FA Cup. Replays aren’t being used again this season.    

UEFA Europa League spot at stake     

The 2026 FA Cup final will be played at London’s Wembley Stadium on May 16. The winner of the tournament will also earn a place in the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League.   

Crystal Palace are the defending FA Cup champions after defeating Manchester City in last year’s final. But Palace won’t repeat — they lost to Macclesfield F.C. in the third round of this year’s competition.   

Breaking down the field of teams still alive    

Three of the four teams still alive in the FA Cup compete in the Premier League: Manchester City, Chelsea and Leeds United. 

Southampton of the Championship (second division) rounds out the field.  

Canada’s Cyle Larin making an impact for Southampton  

Canadian forward Cyle Larin is enjoying a renaissance ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup 

Larin, a 31-year-old from Brampton, Ont., is Canada’s second all-time leading scorer (30 goals in 88 games), but he has struggled the past few seasons at club level, bouncing between RCD Mallorca and Feyenoord with little success.   

But Larin has looked totally rejuvenated since his loan move to the English second division with Southampton in January, scoring seven goals (including one in the FA Cup) and adding an assist in 17 games. His latest goal came in Southampton’s 2-2 draw vs. Bristol City on Tuesday, which was his fourth in his last six Championship matches. 

The draw helped keep the Saints in fourth place in the second division standings and in line to participate in the playoffs that would give them the chance to earn promotion to the Premier League next season. 

The hope for Canada is that he can continue to display his very best form for Southampton and then build upon that at the World Cup where coach Jesse Marsch’s team will play Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland in the group stage.  

MANCHESTER CITY vs. SOUTHAMPTON 

Manchester City and Southampton kick things off on Saturday (12 p.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) with both teams coming off important results. Southampton’s draw against Bristol City on Tuesday kept it in the promotion battle while Manchester City’s win over Burnley on Wednesday moved it past Arsenal for first place in the Premier League table with five matches left in the season. 

While Manchester City will be playing in its eighth consecutive FA Cup semifinal, Southampton is back in the final four for the first time since losing to Leicester City in 2020-21. What’s more, Man City have won 13 of their previous 18 contests vs. the Saints in all competitions with only two draws. The teams last faced off during the 2024-25 Premier League season when they played to a 0-0 draw. 

A victory for Manchester City on Saturday would be historic, as no club has ever reached four consecutive FA Cup finals. Meanwhile, Southampton is attempting to become the first club outside of the Premier League to reach the final since Cardiff City did it in 2007-08. But the Saints will have their hands full against Man City, who have won its last 21 FA Cup matches against non-Premier League opponents. 

Previous FA Cup matches: Saturday marks the fifth FA Cup game between Manchester City and Southampton since their first encounter in 1909-10. The Blues have three wins, including a 4-1 decision in their previous meeting in the quarterfinals in 2021-22. Southampton’s lone win in the series came in the third round in 1959-60. 

Players to watch: Norwegian forward Erling Haaland has 12 goals in 12 FA Cup matches for Manchester City, including three goals in two appearances in this season’s tournament. But Haaland has never scored in an FA Cup semifinal or final for Manchester City. Southampton’s Ross Stewart has three goals in five career FA Cup appearances, including two goals in three appearances for the Saints. 

CHELSEA vs. LEEDS UNITED 

The FA Cup doubleheader concludes when Chelsea and Leeds United kick off on Sunday at (9:45 a.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+). It’s the third meeting of the 2025-26 season between the clubs – Leeds is undefeated (one win and a draw) vs. Chelsea in the Premier League. 

While Chelsea has advanced from nine of its last eleven FA Cup semifinals – its last appearance in the final was in 2022 – Leeds hasn’t made it this far in the competition since 1987. Chelsea has played in 17 semifinals since then. 

Notably, Chelsea has scored a tournament-high 20 goals in this season’s FA Cup. They’ve scored at least four goals in all four games, including a 7-0 win over third-division side Port Vale in the quarterfinals. No club has ever scored four or more goals in five consecutive FA Cup matches. 

Sunday's game comes at a curious time for Chelsea who on Wednesday fired manager Liam Rosenior after only four months on the job. Rosenior’s departure was hastened by Chelea’s recent five-game losing streak – its worst losing run in over a century – in which it failed to score a single goal. Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion was the club’s seventh loss in eight games in all competitions. Assistant coach Calum McFarlane will take charge of Chelsea on an interim basis until the end of the season. 

Previous FA Cup matches: Sunday will be the seventh FA Cup meeting between Chelsea and Leeds United. Incredibly, Chelsea got the better of Leeds in all six, including a 3-2 win in the fifth round of the 2023-24 in their last encounter.  

Players to watch: Leeds United has scored nine times in the FA Cup this season, but Japanese midfielder Ao Tanaka is the only player to bag more than one goal. Portugal international Pedro Neto is tied for second place in the FA Cup scoring charts this season with four goals, highlighted by his hat trick vs. Hull City in the fourth round.