Finn Azaz fires Southampton FC warning to Man City | OneFootball

Southampton are underdogs heading to Wembley, but they go into it in incredible form

Southampton will take to the Wembley stage once more later on Saturday when they take part in one of the two FA Cup semi-finals this weekend, where they were handed the toughest task possible in the form of Man City.

It is the second Premier League leader in successive rounds that the Saints will have to take on, having dispatched Arsenal in the quarter-finals at St Mary's Stadium in a 2-1 success.

Since then though, City have leapfrogged Mikel Arteta's side to take the top spot for themselves, although that will once again change if the Gunners draw with or beat Newcastle - around the same time Pep Guardiola's team will be on the Wembley pitch.

On paper, City are comfortable favourites to book their place in May's FA Cup final, and the clash with Southampton will be their 31st match at the new Wembley since it was re-built and opened in 2007, and that experience will likely count for a lot when coming up against opposition from the division below.

Southampton's Finn Azaz issues message to Man City ahead of FA Cup clash

Amid a 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions, Southampton are riding the crest of a wave both in the Championship and the FA Cup, and whilst their promotion aspirations will have to take a back seat this weekend, their equal focus will be going on trying to progress into their first FA Cup final since 2003.

And for Saints attacking midfielder Finn Azaz, who has been a real star for the club since his initial £12 million move from Middlesbrough and has notched 11 goals and nine assists across all competitions in his debut season, there is no reason as to why he and his team-mates cannot take the game to the Premier League leaders.

"We're on an amazing run right now," Azaz told the BBC.

"The mentality in this team has been built over the last few months, we beat Arsenal in the last round so we're going there not to just enjoy the occasion, we're going there to try and win.

"I know it's a cliche but we can't let the occasion affect our performance, if you start thinking about the 'what ifs' then that's when it has an impact on the performance."

And perhaps unsurprisingly, confidence within the dressing room is sky-high, even though the enormity of the task is not lost among them.

"The mood in the squad is really positive right now," Republic of Ireland international Azaz added.

"We know it's going to be tough and they have an amazing team but we have experience of being the underdogs and beating top sides.

"The performances against Fulham and Arsenal were top and they'll give us the most confidence going into this."

Tonda Eckert's stock will rise even further if Southampton go close against Man City

For his first senior head coach role, Tonda Eckert is doing mightily fine in the dugout at St Mary's, with the under-21's boss taking over from Will Still temporarily in November before landing the job on a full-tme basis a month later.

The 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions is testament to the tune he's gotten out of his squad, and depending on results that happen across the Championship this weekend, they may still be in with a real shot of creeping into the top two.

Joint focus though has to go on the clash with City, even if they are such a formidable opponent - they're not unbeatable though, and with the right game-plan and desire, Southampton could get something out of it.

Even if they are battered though by the potential new Premier League champions, Southampton cannot afford to let their confidence get knocked ahead of two important league fixtures next week - hindsight is a wonderful thing though.