Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola anticipates a “fantastic day” against in-form Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday and says he has “many, many thoughts still in my mind” about his team selection.
Guardiola’s side beat then-leaders Arsenal at home last Sunday and went top of the Premier League by winning 1-0 at Burnley on Tuesday, but their schedule will ease with a nine-day break between the game at Wembley Stadium and their league trip to Everton on May 4 (20:00 BST).
“The game against Arsenal was so demanding emotionally,” Guardiola said of the contest with City’s only title rivals.
“People were so, so tired. The question is who will be ready for playing 95 minutes or maybe extra time with a lot of players who have a lot of minutes in their legs.
“I have a lot to discuss with my staff. [Southampton] being able to knock out Arsenal and Fulham speaks for itself. It’s a great opportunity [for us] to get to the final.”
Southampton beat the Gunners 2-1 in the quarter-finals as part of their current 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions and are fourth in the Championship after a 2-2 draw at home to midtable Bristol City on Tuesday.
Head coach Tonda Eckert took over a team immediately above the relegation zone at the start of November but his side retain a chance of winning automatic promotion to the Premier League with two games of their league season remaining, as well as being assured of a play-off place.
“If you see where City score their goals, most of them are within the width of the six-yard box and most of them are inside the 18-yard box,” observed Eckert, via Southampton’s website.
“So there might be some moments where you just need to defend inside your box and be very clear on how to do that.
“On the other hand, there are more than enough chances – we’re definitely going to have a couple of transition moments and we need to be crucial on the ones they give to us, because it’s not going to be too many.
“At the same time, you can’t rely only on defending in these games, so we need to be brave enough and find another gear and the energy so that, when we do have the ball, we have spells in possession.
“We found quite a good combination of both of these aspects against Arsenal, and they will be the key again.”
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Manchester City v Southampton team news
Midfielder Rodri (groin) will miss a second successive match for City, who remain without defenders Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Josko Gvardiol (broken leg).
James Trafford is likely to continue his run of FA Cup starts in goal, with first-choice Gianluigi Donnarumma on the bench.
Captain Jack Stephens is a doubt for Southampton after pulling out of the game against the Robins during the warm-up.
Defensive midfielder Flynn Downes and left-back or midfielder Ryan Manning are suspended, with Eckert acknowledging that Southampton may need to adjust their press and build-up play as a consequence.
“I’m sure we’ll find a way,” said the 33-year-old German, who is in his first head coach role. “I’m sure we’ll have a solution.”
Man City v Southampton predicted line-ups
Man City starting XI: James Trafford, Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Bernardo Silva, Nico Gonzalez, Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland
Southampton starting XI: Daniel Peretz, James Bree, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Nathan Wood, Jack Stephens, Shea Charles, Finn Azaz, Tom Fellows, Cameron Archer, Cyle Larin, Ross Stewart
Where to watch Man City v Southampton: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:15 BST (12:15 ET / 09:15PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the HBO Max app.
TNT Sports costs £30.99 a month and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Manchester City v Southampton stats
- The first-ever meeting between the teams was a 5-0 City win in the FA Cup second round in February 1910
- The seven-time champions have won all three editions of the fixture in the FA Cup, also prevailing 3-1 at home in the fourth round in January 2007 and 4-1 away in the quarter-finals in March 2022
- They have lost one of their last 10 meetings with Southampton (W6), although that defeat came in a cup competition with a 2-0 loss in the EFL Cup in January 2023
- City have won their last five matches in all competitions by an aggregate scoreline of 12-1, as well as scoring in each of their last seven games
- Eight of the last nine occasions on which City have failed to beat Southampton have come away from their own stadium (L4 D4)
- Erling Haaland has the highest goal conversion (60%) of any player to have scored at least three times in this season’s competition, as well as a shot accuracy of 80% that is only bettered among those players by Weston-super-Mare’s Louis Britton
- This match will fall 99 days after Southampton’s last defeat, losing 2-1 at home to Hull City in the Championship a week after beating third-tier Doncaster Rovers away in the FA Cup third round
- Southampton have one goal across their last five meetings with City. The only Saints player to score in the last six editions of the fixture is Sekou Mara, netting in a 4-1 Premier League home defeat in April 2023
- There have been more than three hours and 18 minutes of football between the teams since Mara scored that goal, although City have also gone more than 175 minutes against Southampton without netting, since Erling Haaland’s winner in their 1-0 home victory in October 2024
- Southampton have scored in each of their last 22 matches in all competitions, as well as netting in all seven of their matches in domestic cup campaigns in 2025/26
- Three of their last four FA Cup goals have come after the 84th minute, comprising Shea Charles’s 85th-minute winner against Arsenal, Ross Stewart’s 91st-minute penalty in their 1-0 victory at Fulham in the fifth round and James Bree’s 109th-minute decider at home to Leicester City in the fourth round
Man City v Southampton prediction
Prediction: Man City 2-1 Southampton
City are suitably strong favourites to beat second-tier opposition but Southampton are under little pressure and are the form team in the EFL apart from League One dominators Lincoln City, so the prices on both teams to score or even City to win from behind could appeal.
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