Reviews Streaming

Where to watch FA Cup Final: Live stream Chelsea vs. Man City free from anywhere

A composite image of Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Cole Palmer of Chelsea in their blue uniforms.
Jorge Horsted/News Images/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect (left); Harvey Murphy/IMAGO/News Images via Reuters Connect (right)
Read in app

Two of the FA Cup's most successful teams — Man City and Chelsea — meet at Wembley on Saturday to decide the 145th playing of the competition. And, if you want to know where to watch the FA Cup Final, we have all the information you need below.

Those in the UK are the luckiest in the world, as they get to watch the match absolutely free thanks to BBC One and the BBC iPlayer. You can watch every minute of 2026 FA Cup Final action — no matter where in the world you are, thanks to a VPN — by following our guide below.

Alongside their pursuit of the Premier League and EFL Cup victory, Man City have serenely coasted into a fourth straight FA Cup Final. Despite being favorites, however, they've managed to lose the last two to Crystal Palace and crosstown rivals Man United, so Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland, and co. will be keen to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

For Chelsea, the competition has been a shining light in an otherwise dark season. Calum McFarlane may only be interim boss after Liam Rosenior's sacking, but leading the Blues to their first domestic honor for eight years would certainly help burnish his reputation.

Will City be denied again? Or will outgoing captain Bernardo Silva get the chance to lift the iconic trophy in one of his last games for the club? Keep reading to learn how to tune in.


Where to watch FA Cup Final for free in the UK

The FA Cup Final is shown on BBC One on free-to-air TV in the UK. That means Chelsea vs. Man City will also be available to stream for free live and on demand via the BBC iPlayer streaming service. Its app is available on pretty much every streaming device you can think of.

This year, alternative coverage will be broadcast through TNT Sports 1, which you can stream online through HBO Max in the UK if you don't already have it as part of your TV package.

How to watch FA Cup Final from anywhere

If you're a UK football fan abroad and try to watch the FA Cup Final for free on BBC iPlayer, you'll discover that the stream is blocked. The same goes for ESPN Select and other streaming services the world over. To get around this nuisance, you can use a VPN, or virtual private network. The cybersecurity software changes your IP address to another country, so you can appear like you're back at home.

NordVPN is the outright best VPN that you can download right now. It's brilliant at unlocking geo-restricted platforms, and is also among the fastest, most secure, and easiest to use VPNs that we've tested (see our NordVPN review for a more in-depth appraisal). Not used a VPN before? You can try NordVPN risk-free thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Where to watch FA Cup Final in the US

Fans of UK soccer in the US have options when it comes to where to watch the Chelsea vs. Man City on Saturday, with ESPN2 the main linear channel carrying the FA Cup Final. If you don't already have access to ESPN channels, then a subscription to the ESPN streaming platform is an affordable choice. Its entry-level ESPN Select tier costs from $13 a month on a rolling basis and will let you watch the game on a wide variety of devices.

If sports are your thing, then you could also consider going for a more comprehensive ESPN Unlimited plan instead. For $30 a month, it includes everything that the various ESPN channels have to offer, so that means action from the NFL, NBA, and WWE, in addition to FA Cup soccer.

An array of premium sports channels is also carried by DirecTV MySports. The OTT provider offers the likes of CNN, FS1/FS2, NBA TV, NFL Network, Golf Channel, and TNT alongside ESPN Unlimited, all for $65 a month with a $20 discount off your first two months. It also comes with a five-day free trial for new customers.

Fubo Sports + News is another sports-focused cable replacement product featuring ESPN Unlimited alongside 28 other channels. Not sure if Fubo's for you? Try before you buy with its five-day free trial, after which it costs $56 a month (with $10 off your first month).

Where to watch FA Cup Final in Australia

Australian soccer fans will be able to watch Chelsea vs. Man City live streams exclusively on the Stan Sport subscription service. The platform covers an array of live sports and costs from $32 a month (combining a base Stan subscription of $12 a month with the Sport add-on for $20 a month).

Where to watch FA Cup Final in Canada

The 2026 FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Man City will be shown on Sportsnet in Canada — so if you already get that channel, you're good to go. If not, you have the option to sign up for the online Sportsnet Plus streaming service to stream FA Cup soccer, NHL, NBA, MLB, UFC, and more. You'll need a Premium plan to watch this game, which costs $43 a month or $325 for the year (the equivalent of $27 a month).

What is the FA Cup Final venue?

The 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium in London, UK will host the 2026 FA Cup Final between Chelsea vs. Man City.

Also home of the England football team, Wembley has hosted the FA Cup Final every year since 2007. Immediately prior to that, there was a six-year period where the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while the new stadium was being built. The iconic 'old' Wembley, which was knocked down in the year 2002, hosted the FA Cup Final between 1923 and 2000.

Who is favored to win the FA Cup final?

Man City are overwhelming favorites to win the 2026 FA Cup Final on Saturday, May 16. At the time of writing, DraftKings has Pep Guardiola's team at -140 to win and Chelsea at +370, and it's around the same at BetMGM.


Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.

Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.

Read next

Adam finally took the plunge in the summer of 2023 to go freelance, and so far isn’t looking back! Behind him is over a decade in journalism, writing, research, and content directorship.Going even further back, Adam started life as a lawyer. Writing blogs on the side about his real passions — cinema and food — eventually encouraged him to retrain and he got his first taste of bylines on a series of independent film magazines.Adam has written on a variety of subjects: from sport (The Cricketer) and tech (T3, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide), to consumer affairs (Which?) and, of course, movies and TV (CinemaBlend, WhatToWatch, Vérité Magazine). He enjoyed several years at Future Plc where he was the Content Director for Subscriptions and Services, helping the company become an ecommerce powerhouse.In recent times, Adam has developed an expertise in consumer VPNs, including product testing, comparisons and advice guides. He has also written extensively on streaming, security software and ‘how to watch’ editorials.Cinema and the Oscars remain obsessions, forever fighting for Adam’s free time alongside singing in a choir, keeping chickens, and summers filled with cricket.