The draw for the 2025/26 FA Cup semifinals will be made on Sunday evening after the final quarterfinal between West Ham United and Leeds United, setting the route to Wembley for Manchester City, Chelsea and two teams yet to be decided. Manchester City and Chelsea have already booked their spots in the last four, City after a dominant 4-0 win over Liverpool and Chelsea following a seven-goal night against lower-league Port Vale. Arsenal were the shock casualty of the quarterfinals, eliminated by Championship side Southampton.
West Ham and Leeds meet at 4:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET) on April 5 in the tournament’s final quarterfinal. The FA will stage the semifinal draw roughly two hours after the full-time whistle, with the timing dependent on whether the match requires extra time or penalties. The two semifinals are due to be played over the weekend of April 25-26, with one tie scheduled for each day, and the winners will meet in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 16.
Manchester City’s 4-0 victory over Liverpool secured their place among the last four in emphatic fashion, removing one of the competition’s perennial contenders. Chelsea’s progress came via a comprehensive win against Port Vale, a result that underlines the gap in quality between the Premier League and the lower divisions when the big clubs fire. By contrast, Arsenal’s exit at the hands of Southampton represents one of the competition’s classic giant-killings, with the Championship side ending the top-flight team’s hopes of adding FA Cup silverware this season.
With City and Chelsea already through, the upcoming draw will determine whether the heavyweights are kept apart until the final or face one another at Wembley. The uncertainty also raises the stakes for West Ham and Leeds, both of whom will see the chance to reach a high-profile semifinal as a key opportunity in their seasons. For Southampton, having dumped Arsenal out, the club can only wait to learn its quarterfinal conqueror’s potential path should it progress further.
The FA Cup’s calendar remains tight: quarterfinals concluding on April 5, semifinals at the end of April, and the final on May 16. That timetable places the domestic showpiece late in the domestic campaign while clubs juggle league positions and European commitments. Managers, players and supporters will all be watching Sunday closely—not only for the result between West Ham and Leeds but for the draw that will map the remaining teams’ routes toward Wembley.
Fans and broadcasters can expect the draw to be staged shortly after the final quarterfinal concludes and announced across FA channels and media outlets. The draw will answer immediate questions about potential high-profile encounters at Wembley and set up the last major domestic knockout weekend before England’s 2026 international calendar takes centre stage.