Manchester City faces Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, while Arsenal gets a favorable draw.

The FA Cup quarter-final draw for the 2025/26 season has produced a top-tier clash as Manchester City meets Liverpool. This match is considered the highlight of the round, with two Premier League giants competing directly for a spot in the semi-finals.

According to the draw result, Manchester City will host Liverpool at their home ground, Etihad Stadium. Both teams advanced to the quarter-finals by winning their fifth-round matches, with Manchester City defeating Newcastle and Liverpool successfully eliminating Wolverhampton. This encounter is therefore expected to be a tense showdown between two leading contenders for the championship.

For Manchester City, the draw against Liverpool makes their April schedule extremely demanding. The team under manager Pep Guardiola is still chasing Arsenal in the Premier League title race and must also allocate resources for European competition. Ahead lies a major clash with Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. If they advance past this stage, Manchester City could enter a period of congested fixtures, with Champions League quarter-final matches likely interspersed between FA Cup and Premier League games.

Moreover, immediately after the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool, Manchester City must also visit Chelsea in the Premier League, before returning home to host Arsenal in a match that could be decisive for the title race. This makes the challenge named Liverpool even more difficult for the reigning English champions.

Meanwhile, Arsenal is considered to have a more comfortable draw, as they only need to visit Southampton—a team currently playing in the EFL Championship. If they overcome this opponent, the Gunners could reach the semi-finals without having faced any Premier League representative yet. Previously, the London club successively defeated lower-tier opponents like Mansfield Town and Wigan Athletic on their deep run in the tournament.

In the remaining fixtures, Chelsea will host the tournament's surprise team, Port Vale. The League One representative shocked by eliminating Sunderland with a 1-0 victory in the previous round. However, the challenge for Port Vale in the quarter-finals is predicted to be much tougher as they must visit an ambitious Chelsea side.

Port Vale currently sits at the bottom of the EFL League One table and is the lowest-ranked team still participating in the competition. Reaching the quarter-finals is already a historic achievement for this club, as the last time they advanced to this stage was in 1954.

The remaining quarter-final pairing sees West Ham hosting Leeds. West Ham secured their progression by defeating Brentford in a penalty shootout, while Leeds demonstrated convincing form by beating Norwich City 3-0.

According to the scheduled calendar, the FA Cup quarter-final matches will take place over the weekend of April 4th and 5th. The two winning teams will earn a place in the semi-finals on April 25th, before the final is held on May 16th at Wembley Stadium.