Southampton will have to postpone their pursuit of Championship promotion for one weekend on April 25 in order to play Man City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium.

The Saints are currently riding high and have won 18 games across all competitions. They have not only moved up the second tier standings into a possible late automatic promotion push, but they have also put together an impressive cup run, eliminating both Fulham and Arsenal from the top flight.

Tonda Eckert’s team has increased the pressure on their Championship rivals after completing their task by defeating Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the league game they were scheduled to play next weekend. They know that the ball is now in their court as they get ready to play a superpower in Man City next week.

It will be difficult for Southampton to contain Pep Guardiola and his gifted team on the field without a home advantage like against Arsenal, but it appears that ticket holders for the Wembley match will have difficulties getting to the 90,000-seat stadium in north London.

Before their match against Man City at Wembley, Southampton made a request.

For next weekend’s match, Southampton has been awarded a 33,000 share of the Wembley tickets, and many supporters will have been preparing to use the rail connections into London to travel to the stadium.

However, a spanner has been thrown into the works; engineering work on one of the main lines into the capital, which passes through nearby Basingstoke, is scheduled to take place that very weekend. As a result, buses will replace trains for some of the planned journeys, further lengthening the typical travel time.

As a result, local Members of Parliament have become involved, pleading with the authorities to halt the necessary work in the Basingstoke area so that supporters can travel without stress. This has happened at the worst possible time for Saints supporters who will be traveling to London to watch Eckert’s team play Man City.

The three of them—Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur, City Council chairman Alex Winning, and Saints CEO Phil Parsons—have banded together to advocate for the line to continue operating normally. It remains to be seen if this argument is accepted.

The three stated, “The club has been allocated over 33,000 tickets, with supporters travelling predominantly from Southampton and surrounding areas,” according to the Daily Echo.

“The primary and most frequently used connection into London for these trips is the rail route via Basingstoke.

“The proposed closure of this portion of the line, where busses will take the place of trains, will cause enormous disruption, significantly lengthening travel times and posing serious logistical issues that could prevent many fans from attending the game at all.

“For us at Southampton, this semi-final is an extremely important occasion.

“There aren’t many opportunities like this, so it’s critical that all Saints fans can travel to support our team in a safe, effective, and dependable manner.

“We are aware that necessary upgrades and maintenance must be performed.

However, we ask that these tasks be rescheduled or postponed to avoid falling on the same day as the fixture due to the size and importance of this event.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further and to work collaboratively to find a practical solution.”

Before the Man City match, Southampton supporters won’t be at all optimistic.

Since their team was demoted from the top division, Southampton supporters have had an extremely turbulent season; under Will Still, they saw a significant decline in performance before rising once more under Tonda Eckert.

Based on their underlying data, there was undoubtedly misfortune under Still, but Eckert, who was elevated from the under-21s, has been able to bring his brilliant team to a new level, and their quick ascent up the table is not an anomaly.

However, the match against Man City next weekend is a spectacle in and of itself. While some will view it as a diversion, others may see it as an opportunity to showcase themselves. If they can pull off a surprise and advance to the FA Cup final, momentum will be on their side going into the Championship season’s final match against Preston North End on May 2.

It remains to be seen if Kaur, Winning, and Parsons will work together to try to change that, but for Saints fans, simply getting to Wembley will be an accomplishment based on the rail work that will be taking place. Of course, there are other options, like the car or coach, but many will want to take the train into London to enjoy the festivities.