Southampton will return to Wembley Stadium later on Saturday for one of two FA Cup semi-finals, where they will face Manchester City.

The Saints will face their second Premier League leader in as many rounds, after defeating Arsenal 2-1 at St Mary’s Stadium in the quarter-finals.

Since then, City has surpassed Mikel Arteta’s side to take the top spot, though that will change again if the Gunners draw or beat Newcastle around the same time Pep Guardiola’s team plays at Wembley.

On paper, City are clear favourites to reach the FA Cup final in May, and the match against Southampton will be their 31st at the new Wembley Stadium since it was rebuilt and opened in 2007, and that experience will undoubtedly help them when facing opponents from the lower divisions.

Southampton’s Finn Azaz sends message to Manchester City ahead of FA Cup showdown.

Southampton are riding the crest of a wave in both the Championship and the FA Cup, and while their promotion hopes will have to take a back seat this weekend, their equal focus will be on reaching their first FA Cup Final since 2003.

Saints attacking midfielder Finn Azaz, who joined from Middlesbrough for £12 million, has 11 goals and nine assists in his debut season. He believes his team can challenge the Premier League leaders.Azaz told the BBC, “We’re on an amazing run right now.”The team’s mentality has been developed in recent months, as seen by their victory over Arsenal in the previous round. They are determined to win the match.I know it’s a cliche, but we can’t let the occasion effect our performance; if you start thinking about the ‘what ifs’, that’s when it affects performance.”

Confidence is high in the dressing room, despite the daunting challenge ahead.Azaz, a Republic of Ireland international, stated that the squad’s morale is now quite good.We anticipate a challenging match against a strong squad, but we have shown ourselves as underdogs and defeated great teams before.The performances against Fulham and Arsenal were excellent, and they will give us the most confidence heading into tonight.”

Tonda Eckert’s stock will climb even further if Southampton come near against Manchester City.

Tonda Eckert is doing admirably in his first senior head coach role at St Mary’s, having taken over from Will Still on a temporary basis in November before gaining the full-time job the following month.

The 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions demonstrates the tune he’s pulled out of his players, and depending on what happens in the Championship this weekend, they may still have a real chance of breaking into the top two.

The joint focus must be on the meeting with City, despite the fact that they are such a tough opponent; they are not unbeatable, and with the appropriate game plan and determination, Southampton might emerge victorious.

Even if they are pummeled by the probable future Premier League champions, Southampton cannot afford to lose confidence ahead of two crucial league games next week – hindsight is a lovely thing, however.