Manchester is leading the Premier League standings for the first time since August, but their wasteful performance in Wednesday’s narrow 1-0 victory over Burnley was tinged with regret after they failed to create a goal-difference advantage over title rivals Arsenal, scoring just one goal from 28 shots at Turf Moor.
However, under the Catalan coach, Pep Guardiola’s team has increased their chances of winning a seventh top-flight championship in ten years. They have won five straight games across all competitions, including an impressive 4-0 victory over Liverpool at home in the FA Cup quarterfinals earlier this month.
After defeating Exeter City (10-1), Salford City (2-0), and Newcastle United (3-1) in the preceding three rounds, Man City is now preparing for a record eighth straight FA Cup semi-final and will try to become the first side in the competition’s history to make it to a fourth consecutive final.
Man City has been a strong force in the FA Cup over the years, winning the most games (44), scoring the most goals (157), and keeping the most clean sheets (28) since the 2016–17 season, despite losing finalists the previous two seasons.
The seven-time FA Cup winners, who are still aiming for a domestic triple this season, have also won all 21 of their FA Cup matches against non-Premier League teams, scoring an incredible 84 goals and giving up only 11.
The fact that City has lost six of their seven FA Cup matches under Guardiola at Wembley the other was at the DW Stadium against Wigan back in February 2018 will give Saturday’s opponents, Southampton, some solace.
Fifty years after defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the 1976 FA Cup final as a former Second Division team thanks to a memorable goal from Bobby Stokes, Southampton will return to Wembley this weekend with the goal of defeating yet another Manchester powerhouse and becoming the first second-tier team to make it to the final in almost twenty years.
After defeating Doncaster Rovers (3-2), Leicester City (2-1 A.E.T.), and Fulham (1-0) by one goal each in the previous four rounds, the Saints advanced to the semifinals. Earlier this month, they defeated Arsenal 2-1 at home, with former Man City academy player Shea Charles scoring the game-winning goal in the 85th minute. But in a 2-2 Championship match at St Mary’s on Tuesday, Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City frustrated them, snapping their eight-game unbeaten record.
Under head coach Tonda Eckert, Southampton has completely changed. They have gone 20 games without losing in all competitions (W16 D4), scoring two or more goals in 13 of those games.
However, they were thwarted by Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City in a 2-2 Championship tie at St Mary’s on Tuesday, breaking their eight-game winning streak.
Despite this, the Saints remain fourth in the rankings and are dangerously close to the automatic promotion spots, which is quite an accomplishment given that they were in 20th place when Eckert took over. Although the club’s ultimate ambition from this position is to return to the Premier League, reaching the FA Cup final during this historic jubilee year provides a chance of immortality that no league standing can match.
Southampton has not played in the FA Cup final since 2003, and they have a poor track record of failing to reach the legendary conclusion, losing to Leicester in 2020-21 and being ousted in nine of their thirteen semi-final meetings. It’s worth noting that, with the exception of Arsenal in 1926-27, eight of the nine clubs that defeated the Saints in the semifinals won the championship.
Southampton has likewise struggled to succeed at Wembley, losing eight of their 11 games played there (W3), including their most recent two FA Cup semifinals. In the meantime, the Saints have lost 13 of their last 18 encounters with Man City in all competitions (W2 D3). If they are to deliver another FA Cup giant-killing, they will need to defy both current head-to-head form and historical patterns.
