Coventry City vs Manchester United: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

This Saturday's FA Cup semi-final sees a fascinating clash between Coventry City and Manchester United, a match that encapsulates the timeless magic of this storied competition. This contest, set against the backdrop of Wembley's grandeur, offers both sides a chance to pen a significant chapter in their respective histories, albeit for very different reasons.

• Both Teams To Score @ -164 With FanDuel
• Manchester Utd / Draw @ +340 With FanDuel
• A Goals In Both Halves @ -215 With FanDuel

These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

• Date: 21/04/2024
• Kick-off time: 15:30
• Location: Wembley Stadium

Coventry City, currently positioned 8th in the EFL Championship with 63 points, have experienced a season of solid performances peppered with missed opportunities. Following a painful loss in last season's playoff final, expectations were high for the Sky Blues to make another push for promotion. However, a turbulent summer saw the departure of key players, necessitating a substantial squad rebuild by manager Mark Robins.

The integration of new players into the team dynamics initially hampered their campaign, leading to a slower start than anticipated. Despite this, Coventry's season has been far from a disappointment. The quality across the Championship has been notably high, making it more difficult than usual to compensate for a slow start to the season in their push for a playoff place.

Coventry's journey to the FA Cup semi-finals has been impressive, featuring emphatic victories over Oxford United (6-2), Sheffield Wednesday (4-1), Maidstone United (5-0), and a remarkable upset against Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-2). This run not only highlighted their potential but also restored belief among the fans that despite league frustrations, glory could still be within reach at Wembley.

The squad boasts considerable talent with players like central midfielder Ben Sheaf, defender Bobby Thomas, and forwards Haji Wright and Ellis Simms making significant impacts. Their performances have been crucial to Coventry's cup run and will be vital if they are to overcome the challenge posed by Manchester United. Coventry's only FA Cup triumph came in 1987, a historic victory that remains a high point in the club's history. A win against Manchester United would not only echo that glorious past but also provide a substantial boost to a season that threatened to fizzle out.

Coventry Team News

Coventry are doing well on the injury front with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Jamie Allen their only absentees.Josh Eccles is likely to come back in to partner Ben Sheaf in the midfield, while Kasey Palmer should get the nod over Callum O'Hare to play behind Ellis Simms up top. Haji Wright will play off the left as usual, with Milan van Ewijk likely to start on the right wing.

Man United Team News

Manchester United are entering this game with a hefty injury list with Lisandro Martínez, Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Scott McTominay, Jonny Evans, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof all out injured.United will line up a similar manner to how they have been doing in recent games, with Willy Kambwala continuing to partner Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence. The main question mark comes on the wing, where Marcus Rashford is in danger of losing his place to Antony.

Coventry's form has really gone off the boil in recent weeks as they enter this game having won two and lost three of their last five games. In fairness, they've mostly had a tough run of fixtures in that period but their most recent game saw them fall to a hugely disappointing 3-0 defeat away at relegation-threatened Birmingham City, a result that was arguably their worst of the season.

Prior to that, Coventry lost 2-1 away at Southampton, a result that followed an impressive 2-1 win over Leeds United, thanks to goals from Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, which came after a 1-2 defeat to Cardiff City and a 3-1 win away at Huddersfield Town - the latter of which came courtesy of an Ellis Simms brace and a goal from Haji Wright.

United's form isn't much better than Coventry's, with the Red Devils having won only one of their last five games, while going winless in their last four. Their latest outing was a 2-2 draw away at Bournemouth, where a Bruno Fernandes brace was enough to earn them a point in a fairly disappointing performance.

That result followed a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, where goals from Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo were enough to deny Liverpool the win in a chaotic game, which was preceded by an even more chaotic game in a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea where a late Cole Palmer brace saw United squander a 3-2 lead right at the death. Prior to those game, United drew 1-1 at Brentford after beating Liverpool 4-3 in the quarter-final of this competition, again in extremely anarchic circumstances.

A shock is most definitely not off the cards here as Manchester United are nowhere near a stable enough side to be immune to a classic FA Cup upset. However, Coventry's form has dipped at the wrong time and while United aren't playing well themselves, Erik ten Hag's men are the masters of picking up results when playing poorly. In the end, United's superior individual quality should tell in what we think will be a competitive encounter. Coventry 1-2 Man United.

Coventry City vs Manchester United will be available to watch on the Peacock Network (An NBC live-streaming Platform)