Saturday 11 April may prove to be a defining date in Manchester City's season.
A week after Pep Guardiola's side had knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup, Arsenal had the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 12 points. Instead, they lost at home to Bournemouth.
Since that game, City have won their past three matches, including a crucial triumph against the Gunners, along with Wednesday night's victory at Burnley.
It means that City return to the FA Cup sitting top of the Premier League table on goals scored. By the time they face Southampton on Saturday, Guardiola and his players will have led the Premier League for a grand total of 10 days this season.
Celebrations following a workmanlike victory at Turf Moor did not match the exuberance of those that came after last weekend's win over Arsenal, although the result is no less significant. City's ambitions are now firmly aligned with the second domestic treble of Guardiola's near 10-year tenure and they will next target passage to a fourth successive FA Cup final. To do so they must defeat a non-Premier League side – the kind they like to face in this competition.
Southampton, though, are likely to provide a far sterner test than the average underdog. The Championship side are on a 20-game unbeaten run, winning 16, and while Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Bristol City ended a run of eight straight victories, Tonda Eckert's team once again showcased their resilience by twice coming from behind to earn a point.
Only Lincoln City are currently on a longer unbeaten run in the top four tiers of English football, while Saints' 20-game streak is better than any Premier League outfit has managed this season – underlining the impact that Eckert has made in turning them into promotion contenders since swapping his coaching role with the under-21 side to replace the sacked Will Still in November.
Next week marks 50 years since Second Division Southampton famously defeated Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final and the spirit of that cup run has been invoked in this campaign. Saints eliminated Fulham at Craven Cottage in the fifth round before shocking then-Premier League leaders Arsenal just over three weeks ago in the quarter-finals at St Mary’s.
City's rise to the Premier League summit reinforces their status as big favourites for Saturday's contest but it also affords Saints the opportunity to create history. No side has ever knocked out the top-flight leaders (at the start of the day) from the FA Cup twice in the same season.
Did you know?
- Southampton are trying to become the first Championship side to reach the final since Cardiff in 2008.
- Manchester City have reached their eighth consecutive FA Cup semi-final, a run stretching back to 2018-19. They will attempt to become the first team to win four in a row.
Suspensions hampering Saints plans
Southampton are missing two key players because of suspension. Midfielder Flynn Downes received a retrospective three-match ban after elbowing Swansea's Liam Cullen last weekend, while left-back and set-piece taker Ryan Manning (six goals and seven assists this season) received his second yellow of this competition against Arsenal.
Centre-back Jack Stephens may miss out on a sixth Wembley outing after withdrawing during the warm-up of the Bristol City game with a calf issue.
