Manchester City beat Southampton to reach the FA Cup final at Wembley, setting up the showpiece match of the 2025/26 competition on Saturday, May 16, 2026. The fa cup final 2026 will kick off at 15:00 BST (10:00 ET, 07:00 PT) and is scheduled for Wembley Stadium.
That single result leaves one semi-final still to decide an opponent: Chelsea and Leeds United meet after their last-four tie on Sunday, April 26, and will determine who faces Manchester City for the trophy. A total of 124 teams entered the main competition this season, funneling toward this one match laid down at the national stadium.
The stakes are plain and broadcast around the country and beyond. The final will be shown live on One, TNT Sports and HBO Max; in the UK viewers can stream it on the Sport website and the iPlayer app, while TNT Sports and HBO Max can be accessed through the HBO Max app. The match will also be available live on TNT Sports, HBO Max, One and iPlayer, with radio coverage provided by Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
Numbers underline the scale: 124 clubs began the main draw and only two will play for the season’s oldest domestic trophy at Wembley. For Manchester City the game is a chance to respond to last season’s defeat — Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in last year’s final at Wembley — and for Chelsea it is another route to FA Cup history: with eight wins they are the most successful team still involved in the competition.
Context sharpens the moment. The 2026 final is the culmination of the 2025/26 FA Cup season, and it lands against a backdrop of narrative threads that will shape how fans, broadcasters and bookmakers approach the day: Crystal Palace are the reigning champions after last season’s upset; Leeds United have reached the competition’s last four for the first time since 1987; and, in one source, Manchester City are described as odds-on with bookmakers as the final approaches.
The friction is obvious. Manchester City arrive at Wembley with the sting of last year’s loss still relevant, yet bookmakers’ favouritism and a return to the same final stage create a tension between expectation and memory. Chelsea, the competition’s most decorated remaining side, bring history and pressure; Leeds have the feel-good, long-awaited run that can unsettle established names. That contradiction — the weight of recent failure versus the momentum of place in the draw — is what makes the final more than a date in a calendar.
For viewers the practical detail is urgent and straightforward: Saturday, May 16, 2026, 15:00 BST at Wembley Stadium, with coverage across television, streaming and radio. For the clubs the question is competitive: can Manchester City convert this return to Wembley into a trophy, or will the winner of Chelsea v Leeds United derail the script?
The single question that will shape the week ahead is this: which side will end Crystal Palace’s reign and claim the FA Cup at Wembley on May 16? That answer will arrive when the final whistle blows at 15:00 BST and millions have watched on One, TNT Sports, HBO Max, One, iPlayer or heard it on Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.
