Ni hao, Kevin. This is a very good question, a lot of people get confused of using “yao” and “xiang”. Let me explain: first of all “yao” measn to want, “xiang” means would like to. I am sure you know how to use yao, but for “xiang” the structure is “xiang + Verb”. Or "xiang + yao which means would like to have. For example:

wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi shuǐ = I would like to drink a cup of water

wǒ xiǎng yào yì bēi shuǐ = I would like to have a cup of water

Besides “xiang” has another meaning which is " to miss"(someone), for example

wǒ xiǎng wǒ de tài tai = I miss my wife

Is that clear to you, kevin? Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a nice day, zai jian!