Pep Guardiola has made eight changes for this evening’s FA Cup semi-final clash with Southampton.
[Soccer players in grey and neon kits celebrating together on the field following a match. The players are hugging and wearing uniforms with various numbers and names visible.
Match Preview
City v Southampton: Kick-off time, team news and TV information](https://www.mancity.com/news/mens/southampton-fa-cup-semi-final-match-preview-2026-63912525)
Only Rayan Cherki, Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri keep their places from the last game at Burnley as we prepare to face the Saints in the 17:15 (UK) kick-off at Wembley Stadium.
John Stones comes in as captain while there’s a welcome return to the XI for Mateo Kovacic who makes his first start of the season.
City have made this stage by beating Exeter City, Salford City, Newcastle United and Liverpool while Southampton have seen off Doncaster Rovers, Leicester City, Fulham and Arsenal.
The Blues are looking to reach a fourth successive FA Cup final - which would be a record!
The winner of tonight’s encounter will face either Chelsea or Leeds, who play tomorrow, in the showpiece next month.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Trafford, Nunes, Stones (C), Ake, Ait-Nouri, Nico, Kovacic, Reijnders, Cherki, Foden, Marmoush
Subs: Donnarumma, Haaland, Doku, Guéhi, Silva, Savio, O’Reilly, Khusanov, Lewis
SOUTHAMPTON XI: Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Welington, Jander, Bragg, Fellows, Azaz, Scienza, Stewart
Subs: Long, Quarshie, Jelert, Charles, Matsuki, Robinson, Edozie, Archer, Larin
TACTICS
James Trafford is between the sticks and protected by a back four of Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Nico will take on the anchoring role in the absence of Rodri and supported in the central ground by Mateo Kovacic and Tijjani Reijnders.
Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden will interchange in the spaces behind talisman Omar Marmoush.
PEP’S WEMBLEY WAY
Pep Guardiola returns to a familiar venue this evening hoping to progress to a second cup final this season and in the process break even more records.
Tonight’s clash represents Guardiola’s eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final with City - a run stretching back to 2018/19 – and a record in the competition!
Guardiola has led City to victory in the last three to reach the final – beating Sheffield United, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest en route.
No side has ever reached the FA Cup final four seasons in a row as we look to see off Southampton this time around and do just that.
This evening’s game also represents Guardiola’s 23rd appearance at Wembley with City – another record eclipsing former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp by 17 matches!
If all that’s impressive, since Guardiola took over, City have also won the most matches (44), scored the most goals (157) and kept the most clean sheets (28) of any side in the FA Cup.
Here’s to increasing those stats this evening, please, and booking a place in another Wembley showpiece.
FRIENDS AND FOES
There’ll be some very familiar faces in the opposition ranks today!
Southampton boast three former City starlets in their matchday squad this evening.
At the back, in the team and skipper tonight, they have Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who came through our academy system to make eight senior appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side, before joining the Saints permanently in July 2024 following a loan spell.
On the bench, there’s Shea Charles and Samuel Edozie.
Charles, the hero in the quarter-final triumph over Arsenal, also made his breakthrough at the CFA.
Having begun playing for the Club’s Under-9s, he played a crucial part in successive Premier League 2 title winning campaigns before the versatile and committed central midfielder captained the EDS to a third consecutive title success with distinction.
He made one appearance for the first team - playing just under an hour against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in our Treble-winning campaign - before heading to St Mary’s in July 2023.
Exciting winger Edozie also joined the Saints from the Blues, swapping Manchester for Southampton in September 2022 after building up a reputation as a precocious attacking starlet.
Ralph Hasenhüttl saw potential in the youngster who had earlier joined City from Millwall in 2019 and impressed in the U18 and EDS teams.
It’s wonderful to see all three thriving but hopefully its smiles on the faces of current rather than past Blues come full-time.
MATCH STATS
-City have faced Southampton in four previous FA Cup ties, winning 5-0 in 1909/10, 3-1 in 2006/07 and 4-1 in 2021/22. We lost 5-1 in the other in the third round in 1959/60
-Southampton have lost 13 of their last 18 matches against City in all competitions (W2 D3). Their most recent meeting was a goalless draw in May 2025 in the Premier League.
-Southampton are looking to become the first non-Premier League side to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2007/08, who beat fellow Championship side Barnsley in the semi-final. On the last 15 occasions a top-flight team has faced a side from outside the top-flight in the semi-final, the top-flight team has qualified; Sunderland against Norwich in 1991/92 were the last to progress.
-City have won our last 21 FA Cup matches against sides from outside the Premier League, scoring 84 goals and only conceding 11. It is the outright longest winning run ever in FA Cup history by top-flight sides against lower league teams.
-Southampton have reached four FA Cup finals (1900, 1902, 1976, 2003) but have been knocked out in nine of their 13 FA Cup semi-finals, most recently losing to Leicester in 2020/21. Eight of the nine teams to knock the Saints out at that stage then went on to lift the trophy, the exception being Arsenal in 1926/27.
-Erling Haaland has scored 12 goals in 12 FA Cup appearances for City, with 11 of those 12 goals coming as part of hat-tricks (3 vs Burnley in 2023, 5 vs Luton in 2024, 3 vs Liverpool in 2026). However, Haaland has never scored or assisted in a semi-final or final for City – he’s played 14 games, 1,140 minutes, had 25 shots and 62 touches in the opposition box.
-Southampton’s Ross Stewart has scored three goals in five FA Cup appearances (1 in 2 for Sunderland, 2 in 3 for the Saints), scoring those from just four shots on target. He also scored on his last Wembley appearance back in May 2022, for Sunderland in their victorious League One play-off final against Wycombe.