The FA Cup semi-finals take place this week as Manchester City, Chelsea, Leeds, and Southampton each bid to progress through to May’s final.
First up at Wembley is Manchester City vs Southampton at 5.15pm on Saturday (BBC One & TNT Sports 1), then a Liam Rosenior-less Chelsea do battle with Leeds United at 3pm on Sunday afternoon (TNT Sports 1).
With plenty of statistics to explore, we’ve picked out the most interesting potential outcomes ahead of the last-four duels.
Stats you might see
Manchester City vs Southampton
- Manchester City can become the first club in history to reach four successive FA Cup finals.
- Erling Haaland will be looking to end his remarkable drought of never scoring or assisting in any of his 14 semi-finals or finals at Man City (in all competitions).
- Southampton are bidding to become the first club outside of the Premier League to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2007-08.
Wembley must almost feel like a second home to Manchester City who will be making their 33rd visit since 2011. The clash against Southampton will be their eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final as they bid to become the first club ever to reach four successive FA Cup finals.
Man City are currently enjoying a record run of winning their last 21 FA Cup matches against sides from outside the Premier League, during which they’ve scored 84 goals and let in only 11. Beating Southampton in an FA Cup semi-final tends to be a blessing, with eight of the nine teams to eliminate the Saints at this stage going on to win the competition.
One slight, yet surprising, blip for Man City is the remarkable statistic surrounding their goal-machine Erling Haaland, who has never scored or assisted in a single semi-final or final in any competition for Man City: that’s a run of 14 games. He does, however, have 12 goals in 12 FA Cup appearances, including a hat-trick against Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
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Championship side Southampton are enjoying a stunning 20 game unbeaten run (W15 D5) in all competitions dating back to mid-January, which includes back-to-back FA Cup win over Premier League sides Fulham and Arsenal.
The Saints, who won the FA Cup 50 years ago, are bidding to become the first club outside of the Premier League to reach the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2007-08.
This will be the club’s third FA Cup semi-final in the last nine seasons, but they have lost their last two. In fact, they have been on the losing end of nine of their 13 FA Cup semi-finals, while their last final appearance stretches back to 2002-03.
Southampton’s record at Wembley isn’t great, having lost eight of their eleven matches at the new and old stadium. However, they will take encouragement from their memorable Championship play-off final victory over Leeds here just two years ago.
Chelsea vs Leeds
- 8-time winners Chelsea are looking to reach the FA Cup final for the sixth time in 10 seasons.
- Chelsea’s interim head coach Calum McFarlane has the opportunity to become the first Englishman to manage in an FA Cup final since former Blues boss Frank Lampard in 2020.
- Leeds can reach their first FA Cup final for the first time in 53 years, dating back to 1972-73, which is the season after their one and only FA Cup triumph (1971-72).
The build-up to this clash has been dominated by Chelsea’s decision to sack Liam Rosenior after just 23 matches (W11 D2 L10) spanning 107 days, which culminated in the club losing their final five league matches to nil for the first time since 1912.
Interim head coach Calum McFarlane now has the opportunity to become the first Englishman to manage in an FA Cup final since former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard in 2020.
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Chelsea have lifted the FA Cup eight times and could reach the final for the sixth time in the last 10 years. They’ve also been dominant at the semi-final stage, winning nine of their last 11, and boast a perfect record against Leeds in the competition, progressing from all six previous meetings.
Leeds are aiming to finally bring to an end an extremely long 53-year wait for their last FA Cup final, dating back to 1972-73, which is the season after their one and only FA Cup triumph (1971-72).
Their recent record at Wembley offers little encouragement, with three straight defeats without scoring. In fact, no Leeds player has found the net there since Eric Cantona in 1992.
However, Daniel Farke’s side can take confidence from their form against Chelsea this season, remaining unbeaten in two meetings (one win, one draw), while the Blues come into this clash on the back of seven defeats in their last eight matches across all competitions.
