2025/26 FA Cup draw review: Semi-final matchups

Jonathan Victoria • 07 Apr 2026 Features

Arsenal never stood a chance…

2025/26 FA Cup draw review: Semi-final matchups

The quadruple dream fell first and now the treble is gone. The FA Cup quarter-final produced a giant killing that was of no surprise to this writer (up the Saints).

Now, the remaining four teams head to Wembley, just two victories away from having the honour of lifting the coveted FA Cup trophy. Find out how the quarter-final went and the FA Cup semi-final draw results.

2025/26 FA Cup quarter-final results

Obviously, the biggest talking point of the round was Arsenal failing to bounce back from their Carabao Cup final misery.

With a “weakened” squad, they weren't able to topple the mighty Southampton, who not only impressed on the pitch but in the stands, with one of the best atmosphere's ever witnessed - and that's not just my completely unbiased opinion, everybody's saying it; the pundits are saying it, the players were saying it, so it must be true.

Outside of that monumental result, the only other close affair was West Ham vs Leeds, which went all the way to penalties. After conceding two late goals to allow West Ham to extend the game, Leeds were finally able to secure their place in the next round with a sublime shootout performance.

As for the other two games, they were blow-outs - although one of those is a lot more surprising than the other.

Port Vale had their fun in the cup but their magical run was abruptly ended as Chelsea put seven past them.

But the opening game of the round came as a major shock as Manchester City hardly had any issues taking care of Liverpool. Another Haaland hat-trick and a second consecutive clean sheet for second choice keeper James Trafford highlighted a perfect performance from the Cityzens.

Here are the full results from the FA Cup fourth round:

Southampton 2-1 Arsenal
Manchester City 4-0 Liverpool
Port Vale 0-7 Chelsea
West Ham 2 (2) - (4) 2 Leeds

Results of the 2025/26 FA Cup quarter-final draw

Here is the full list of matchups for the semi-finals:

Southampton vs Manchester City
Chelsea vs Leeds

Two games, both at Wembley, with a spot in the final up for grabs.

I don't want to be the one to cry conspiracy, but there's certainly favourites in both games.

Southampton may have taken down two Premier League sides on their way to the final, including the current league leaders, but Man City may be a step too far, especially when the quadruple is on for them.

And Chelsea is the only side who has a home advantage here, it was never going to be fair on their opponent. A stretch of the imagination that may be, but the main fact remains that one of those sides are fighting for Europe while the other is fighting to avoid the drop.

Next FA Cup draw

There will be no next FA Cup draw for this year's competition as the only remaining round after the semis is the final. Just two teams will remain, so getting the balls out seems a bit excessive.

2025/26 FA Cup: Round dates

The dates for the remaining rounds of the FA Cup are subject to change. The ones listed are when they are scheduled to be played, although the actual dates will change depending on teams to ensure there are no schedule conflicts.