Man City XI vs. Southampton—FA Cup Semifinal: Injury News, Predicted Lineup

Pep Guardiola’s side suddenly hold all the cards in league and cup competition.

Manchester City are now on course to secure a not talked about treble. | Visionhaus/Getty Images

Manchester City are one step away from reaching a fourth successive FA Cup final, with Championship side Southampton their adversaries for this Saturday’s semifinal at Wembley Stadium.

Only one of City’s last three trips to the showpiece event have ended in glory, although they have triumphed at Wembley already this season when conquering Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final. They are significant favorites to bypass Southampton and then proceed to win the final against either Leeds United or Chelsea.

Having returned to the Premier League’s summit with their narrow win over Burnley midweek—City’s fifth straight victory in all competitions—motivation remains sky high as Pep Guardiola and his players chase a domestic treble.

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Rodri Uncertainty Persists

Rodri sat out Wednesday’s win through injury. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Rodri is believed to have avoided a significant injury setback despite pulling his groin in last weekend’s win over Arsenal. However, the Spaniard was still absent midweek and remains a doubt for the trip to Wembley.

Rodri has joined central defensive pair Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol in the treatment room, the former absent for the past month and the latter missing since early January.

James Trafford will re-enter the City XI as the club’s cup goalkeeper, while Nico González could be introduced from the off to cover for Rodri’s possible absence.

• ⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Joško Gvardiol, Rúben Dias, Rodri.
• 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1

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Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Southampton (4-2-3-1)

There could be changes from midweek. | FotMob

GK: James Trafford—Trafford’s return to City has not gone as first expected, but Guardiola has retained faith in the deputy during domestic cup runs to Wembley.

RB: Matheus Nunes—Guardiola will be reluctant to make too many alterations to a winning formula, especially with plenty of recovery time before their next outing. As a result, Nunes, who wasn’t great against Burnley, gets a chance to redeem himself.

CB: Abdukodir Khusanov—The absence of Dias and Gvardiol has been eased by Khusanov’s impressive performances—the Uzbekistan international is blossoming during his second term in Manchester.

CB: Marc Guéhi—Guéhi missed the Carabao Cup final due to being cup-tied, but he knows a thing or two about winning the FA Cup. The former Crystal Palace defender conquered City in last year’s final.

LB: Nico O’Reilly—O’Reilly could return to left back this weekend, the position from which he bagged a brace in last month’s Carabao Cup final victory.

DM: Nico González—González has been relegated to the bench since Rodri’s return from injury, but his compatriot’s potential absence this weekend opens the door for a return.

DM: Bernardo Silva—Silva’s final season with City is shaping up to be historic. The Portuguese playmaker’s brilliance has been on show in recent weeks and he could sign off with another treble to his name.

RW: Antoine Semenyo—Semenyo hasn’t been as sharp in recent weeks, but may well keep his place ahead of Savinho after building up plenty of credit.

AM: Rayan Cherki—All eyes have been on Cherki over the past month. The silky attacking midfielder scored a simply magical goal against Arsenal last weekend and is never overawed by the big occasion. Watch out, Southampton.

LW: Jérémy Doku—Doku’s dynamism will prove difficult for Southampton to stop. In full flight, few full backs can match his athleticism, although his end product still requires fine-tuning.

ST: Erling Haaland—Haaland has never scored at Wembley for City despite plenty of exposure to the venue. That could well change this weekend, providing Guardiola resists the temptation to rest his top scorer.

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