Manchester City vs Southampton: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news and prediction  | OneFootball

Manchester City face Southampton in an intriguing FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

The winner of this tie will book a spot in the final on May 16, where they will meet either Chelsea or Leeds United.

Match preview

City come into this semi-final in strong form, having secured a narrow 1-0 victory at Burnley on Wednesday to move to the top of the Premier League.

Having already won the League Cup, City are on course to add the league title and FA Cup to their trophy haul.

Pep Guardiola’s side cruised past Liverpool with a 4-0 victory in the quarter-finals earlier this month, inspired by a hat-trick from Erling Braut Haaland.

The Norwegian will be key once more in this fixture, as he has netted 12 goals in 12 FA Cup appearances for City.

City are featuring in their eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final, a streak that dates back to the 2018/2019 campaign.

They are aiming to secure a fourth straight final appearance, a feat no team has ever accomplished in the competition’s history.

City have faced Southampton on four occasions in the FA Cup, winning three of those encounters.

Southampton can take confidence from Guardiola’s struggles at Wembley Stadium, having lost six of seven FA Cup games there. They will hope to pull off another major upset.

The Saints defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the quarter-finals to reach this stage of the competition.

Southampton boosted their promotion ambitions by stretching their league unbeaten streak to 17 games following a spirited 2-2 draw with Bristol City.

They have now gone 20 matches without defeat in all competitions (W16, D4).

Tonda Eckert’s side are aiming to become the first non-Premier League team to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2007/08.

Southampton have lost 13 of their last 18 meetings with City in all competitions (W2, D3), although their most recent encounter ended in a goalless draw in the Premier League in May 2025.

Team news

Man City will be without Rodri, Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias due to injuries.

Mads Roerslev and Alex McCarthy are sidelined for the Saints, while Jack Stephens is a doubt after pulling out of the starting line-up in the midweek draw with Bristol City with a calf issue.

Predicted line-ups

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Trafford, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri, Bernardo, O’Reilly, Savinho, Cherki, Marmoush, Haaland.

Southampton (4-2-3-1): Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Manning, Downes, Charles, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza, Stewart.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Southampton.