Alan Shearer, the well-known football expert, has made predictions for the English FA Cup semi-finals.
Ahead of the 2025-26 English FA Cup semi-final clash, "The Blues" Chelsea will face "The Whites" Leeds United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 26 Apr 2026 GMT+7.
Recently, Alan Shearer, former England international striker, analyzed this match, believing that Chelsea, who recently changed managers from Liam Rosenior—who was dismissed—to Callum McFarlane, will not cope with the pressure and will ultimately lose to Leeds.
Shearer said, "Regarding Callum McFarlane (Chelsea's interim manager), I know he previously worked alongside Liam Rosenior, who recently parted ways with the team. However, he also managed a match against Manchester City before Rosenior’s appointment, and in that game, I saw significant improvement in the team."
"Chelsea may improve under the interim manager, but they face tremendous pressure to perform well."
"Meanwhile, Leeds have nearly secured their place in the Premier League next season, so they face less pressure. For this reason, I choose Leeds to win."
"The atmosphere in the game will be fantastic. The pressure lies more heavily on Chelsea than on Leeds, so it should be a good day for Leeds fans."
As for the other match scheduled for Saturday night (tonight), Shearer expects Manchester City to defeat Southampton.
"Southampton will make the game difficult. Pep will adjust his tactics and give playing opportunities to three or four players who are not regular starters."
"I watched Southampton in their midweek game and also saw their match against Arsenal at home. They performed impressively. Although they didn't win their midweek game against Bristol City, they came back from two goals down to draw."
"They have gone 20 games unbeaten. They will make the game challenging, but it would take courage to predict that Manchester City won't win."