We're just three matches from knowing who the best team in British football is. Not the best in the Premier League, or the best in the Champions League, or the Europa League. This is the FA Cup. The oldest football tournament in the world. The tournament that pits the best teams from the all 10 leagues of English football. We're talking more than 700 possible winners out of all the levels.
But is often the case, we're down to four teams from the top-flight Premier League. Such is life. And the first of the two semifinals finds Chelsea playing Manchester City on Saturday, April 17. (Leicester City and Southampton play in the other semifinal on April 18.)
Chelsea's road to the final two games has been as difficult as you'd expect in a tournament like this, but they also haven't given up a goal in FA Cup play since a 3-1 victory over Luton Town back in January. Since then, Chelsea has seen a 1-0 win over Barnsley in February, and then a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United in the quarterfinals in March.
For its part, Man City handled Everton 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Swansea City 3-1 in the Elite 8, and Cheltenham Town 3-1 before that.
Who's going to win this one? And, more important, how can you watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City? Let's answer one of those questions here.
How to watch the Chelsea vs. Manchester City in the United States
If you're looking to watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City and you're in the United States, you're in luck. It really couldn't be easier. All you need is a valid subscription to ESPN+, and the ability to clear your schedule at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time (that's 9:30 a.m. Pacific) for a few hours.
ESPN+ is the streaming service from the eponymous sports network, and it's pretty much as necessity for any serious sports fan. And that's good, seeing as how it's relatively inexpensive at $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
Also good is that you're able to watch ESPN+ on just about any modern device that's connected to the internet. You can watch ESPN+ on Roku and on Amazon Fire TV, which takes care of the two most popular streaming platforms in the world. You also can watch ESPN+ on Apple TV, on Android TV and Google TV, on various smart TV systems, and in a web browser.
The FA Cup final is scheduled to be played on May 15.
- How to watch ESPN+ on your TV
- Does ESPN+ offer a free trial?
- How to watch ESPN+ on Roku
- How to watch ESPN+ on a Vizio TV
- Does ESPN+ work with Chromecast?
Watch the FA Cup with the Disney Bundle
A standalone subscription to ESPN+ is all well and good. But even better is if you're getting ESPN+ through the Disney Bundle. That's the scheme that gets you ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ for a single price of $13.99 a month, effectively getting you all three of the streaming services for the price of two.
And it can get even better if you through Hulu With Live TV into the mix. That's the largest live TV streaming service in the United States, with channels that are comparable to any cable subscription. (Hulu With Live TV vs. YouTube TV also is another comparison you should check out.)
Adding Hulu With Live TV to your Disney Bundle takes the price up to $72 a month — or just $7 a month more than if you were to get Hulu With Live TV on its own. It's really hard to beat that deal.
How to watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City in the UK
For those in the FA Cup's native home of England, the semifinal games (as well as the final) will be available to watch on the BBC and BT Sport.
Chelsea vs. Man City is scheduled to start at 17:30 local time.
