Monday at 2: 00 p. m. ET, the 2025/26 fa cup draw will be held live from the London Stadium, timed to precede West Ham United’s fifth-round match against Brentford. The timing means opponents and tentative windows for the quarter-finals will be confirmed immediately before that tie, creating a narrow operational window for clubs.
Fa Cup Draw Presenters and the Drawmaker
Organizers have named Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist as the presenters for the draw, and the ball will be placed into the pots by former City favourite Joe Hart. That lineup of presenters and the drawmaker frames the procedure as part of the pre-match activity at the stadium rather than a standalone event.
Quarter-Final Timing and What Is Triggering This Moment
The quarter-final ties of the 2025/26 FA Cup are scheduled to be played around the weekend of 4 and 5 April 2026. Holding the fa cup draw immediately before West Ham United’s fifth-round match on Monday allows organizers to set fixture windows and give clubs time to confirm logistics ahead of that early-April weekend.
Manchester City’s Position: Recent Results and Wembley Ambition
Manchester City are already in the final eight after victories over Exeter City, Salford City and Newcastle United. The club says it is aiming to return to Wembley after three successive finals, with seven overall FA Cup wins in the club’s history and Pep Guardiola having led City to two of those triumphs.
The draw’s presentation at the London Stadium — immediately before a high-profile fifth-round tie — compresses the calendar for broadcasters and clubs to slot quarter-final dates. The club has indicated kick-off dates and times will be confirmed as soon as possible after the draw is concluded.
Fans and clubs can expect the draw sequence to name four quarter-final ties to be played around the weekend of 4 and 5 April 2026; details on exact dates and start times will follow from the clubs once the draw is complete.
More details are expected 2: 00 p. m. ET on Monday 9 March when the draw is made; if fixtures are confirmed quickly after the draw, quarter-final kick-offs should be announced in the days immediately following the event.
