When Southampton take on Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal, they won’t be in their traditional red and white striped kit.
Instead, they’ll be wearing a special yellow strip without any players’ names on the back that commemorates their success in the competition exactly 50 years ago in 1976, when they beat Manchester United to lift the trophy of the world’s oldest national football competition.
That FA Cup win remains Southampton’s only major trophy in their 141-year history.
The Saints have been wearing the kit in every FA Cup game they’ve played so far this season. The FA has granted them permission to wear the commemorative strip in the semifinal at Wembley.
Southampton have been enjoying an excellent cup run this season, having overcome Premier League competition including Arsenal to reach the semifinals, where they will face Pep Guardiola’s title-chasing City on April 25.
Tonda Eckert’s side are currently on a 20-match unbeaten run, dating back to January, and are still in contention for automatic promotion to the Premier League from the Sky Bet Championship.
That unbeaten run includes their shock win over then-Premier League leaders Arsenal, who they defeated 2-1 at St. Mary’s Stadium to reach the semifinals. Before then, the Saints beat Doncaster, Leicester, and Fulham in the competition.
They will be hoping to pull off another shock on Saturday when they face off against City, who themselves are looking to secure a domestic cup double having already won the Carabao Cup back in March.
Southampton will be bringing more than 35,000 fans to Wembley and their supporters will be urging their team on to follow in the steps of that 1976 team. Making it to the final would be no easy feat but this Southampton side have already shown this season that they aren’t to be underestimated.
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