Man City will be keen to win the semi-final against Southampton at Wembley, and a win would almost certainly mean they will play three games in nine days at the end of the season.
Josep Guardiola aims to reach a fifth FA Cup final (Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA, Getty Images)
Even after the landmark moment passes, the end of Football Focus isn’t that big of a deal. Indeed, the film has been broadcast by the BBC for a very long time, over half a century in fact.
However, viewership has declined for various reasons. The young viewers the BBC covets aren’t sitting at home watching TV on a Saturday lunchtime, for example.
And one of the less important factors contributing to the growing irrelevance of Football Focus is that the days when there was one tranche of games to ‘focus on’ are long gone. I used to watch Football Focus in preparation for the 3 o’clock kickoff.
Now, of course, matches, especially elite matches, are sprinkled over the weekend. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Unless you have dinner plans for your dog on the weekend for some reason.
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It would be acceptable for a Premier League match to be played on the same day as an FA Cup semi-final. But it feels completely wrong to broadcast a big Premier League game live at the same time as the FA Cup semi-final.
Arsenal vs Newcastle United kicks off at 5.30pm on Saturday, 15 minutes after the first whistle for Manchester City vs Southampton at Wembley. The semi-final between City and Saints will be broadcast live on the BBC, meaning it will blow away any Premier League match shown on Sky Sports in terms of viewership.
But this match is yet another example of how all tournament broadcasts and match schedules are taking away the shine from the great old tournaments. If the semi-final weekend fixtures are unlucky, the FA Cup final schedule itself remains deplorable.
Tonda Eckert wants to mastermind an FA Cup upset at Wembley (Image: Matt Watson/Southampton FC via Getty Images)
Last season was the first year of a six-year deal, with the final being held on the Saturday before the final weekend of the Premier League season. The deal was another dagger against the history and tradition of the competition.
The lifting of the FA Cup, as simple as it is, should be the climactic peak of the domestic season. However, the fact that the Premier League will continue beyond the end of the final could have an impact.
If City beat Southampton in the semi-final, their Premier League trip to Bournemouth, scheduled for May 17, will be rescheduled. City’s home match against Crystal Palace is yet to be arranged.
If City reach the final, they will almost certainly play their final Premier League match on the 24th, plus another Premier League game three or four days later. City may need to win both of these games to win the Premier League.
Josep Guardiola has already won at Wembley this season, defeating Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
So what will Josep Guardiola do for the final? If his team plays three games in nine days, he will have to think carefully.
With more important games coming up, there could be a ridiculous situation where Pep rests his players for the FA Cup final. Given the depth of the squad Guardiola has at his disposal, resting players will not significantly hurt City’s chances of winning the FA Cup again.
In any case, it may not matter, as Tonda Eckert’s excellent Southampton may well pull off a surprise at Wembley, but whoever makes it to the final on May 16 should enjoy the best day of the domestic football season. Not a support act for the last Premier League performance.
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Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
