Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream: how to watch the FA Cup semi final for free online and on TV, team news

Settle in for another wild ride, as the two best teams in English football go hell for leather for the second time this week. Their 2-2 draw on Sunday was a Premier League classic, and today they're in action at Wembley Stadium in a blockbuster FA Cup semi-final. The game is on the BBC for fans in the UK. Traveling abroad? Make sure you know how to watch a Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream for free wherever you are in the world.

City offer a reminder of their immense strength in depth by handing starting roles to Jack Grealish, Zack Steffen, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fernandinho. Kevin de Bruyne is fit enough for a substitute role. Luis Díaz gets the nod in Liverpool's attack, alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, while Naby Keita displaces captain Jordan Henderson in midfield.

Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream

Kick-off: 3.30pm BST, Saturday 16th April

Free live stream: BBC iPlayer

Watch anywhere: Try ExpressVPN risk-free

UK TV channel: BBC One

US stream: ESPN+ (10.30am ET)

They've shared the spoils twice this season, but there will be a winner at Wembley, even if it takes extra time and penalties to separate the sides. Liverpool arguably have more riding on this than City. Not only do the Reds trail their rivals in the Premier League title race, but the FA Cup is the only domestic trophy they're yet to win under Jürgen Klopp.

City are masters at suffocating their opposition, whereas chaos is the best form of defence for Liverpool. Salah, Mané, Díaz and Diogo Jota are exactly the type of fleet-footed forwards that keep John Stones and Zinchenko up at night, while Gabriel Jesus and Phil Foden gave Virgil van Dijk and his comrades the runaround last weekend.

Kick-off for this FA Cup semi-final is 3.30pm BST, Saturday 16th April. Read on to find out how to watch a Manchester City vs Liverpool free live stream, wherever you are in the world.

Watch Manchester City vs Liverpool for free

BBC iPlayer

(Image credit: BBC)

The BBC has the rights to air Manchester City vs Liverpool in the UK, and it's worth remembering that you can enjoy the coverage for free from abroad too as a UK national using a VPN (more details below).

Manchester City vs Liverpool will be available on UK TV via BBC One, the BBC Red Button, the BBC Sport website, and through BBC iPlayer app, which you can live stream on a smart TV, tablet, smartphone or through your browser.

Watch a Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream abroad using a VPN

Even if you have access to the BBC, you won't be able to watch the BBC iPlayer app  when you're outside the UK, unless you use a VPN. The service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, such that the servers and services you’re accessing aren’t aware of what you’re doing. All the information passing back and forth is entirely encrypted.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN, which offers a 100 per cent risk-free money back guarantee. If you're not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days

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ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee with its VPN service. You can use it to watch on your mobile, tablet, laptop, TV, games console and more. There's 24/7 customer support and three months free when you sign-up. Try it – you'll be surprised how simple it is.

How to use a VPN

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For the FA Cup, you may wish to choose 'UK' to access iPlayer.

3. Then head over to iPlayer on your browser or device and enjoy a Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream.

If, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, then do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money back guarantee with ExpressVPN. You could also try NordVPN, which also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, and Surfshark which offers 24 hour assistance.

Watch a USA Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream

Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream: watch the FA Cup free in HD

(Image credit: ESPN+)

ESPN+ has the rights to show Manchester City vs Liverpool in the US, as well as all the other FA Cup games and a host of other sport. All matches will be available in English and Spanish.

You can sign up to ESPN+, the network's online-only streaming service. It costs $6.99 per month or $13.99 as part of a bargain bundle with Hulu and Disney+.

Of course, if you're a Brit abroad, you can just watch Manchester City vs Liverpool for free on the BBC instead, by using a VPN like ExpressVPN, which offers the free BBC iPlayer live stream from anywhere in the world.

Paramount Plus

(Image credit: Paramount)

Australia: Manchester City vs Liverpool live stream

If you're in Australia, Paramount+ will provide coverage of this season's FA Cup. A subscription costs $8.99 per month after a 7-day free trial. Manchester City vs Liverpool kicks off at 12.30am AEST, so it's probably not worth going to bed.

Stuck outside Oz at the moment? You can always use a VPN to access a live stream without being blocked.

Watch Manchester City vs Liverpool on DAZN

DAZN is the home of football in Germany, Italy, Japan, Austria, Spain and Switzerland, and is well worth signing up to for all the FA Cup action as well as a host of other events.

Prices vary but are generally very favourable. DAZN usually offers a free 7-day trial, depending on your location. You can try it out for watching Manchester City vs Liverpool and then decide to cancel or continue your subscription.

Manchester City vs Liverpool on DAZN

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DAZN has the rights to the FA Cup, Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, US Sports, fight sports, and much more, live and on demand in Austria, Spain, Germany and Japan. Try free and cancel at anytime.

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