Coventry City is having again another thrilling Championship run, Following their devastating penalty shootout loss to Luton Town in the play-off final of the previous season, Coventry was forced to regroup and get ready for another campaign in the Championship.
After leading Coventry from League Two to the Championship, Mark Robins has done an amazing job, and his current goal is to lead the team back to the Premier League. With nine games remaining, the Sky Blues are currently in or near the play-off spots as they attempt to stave off the opposition.
| Championship Table (As it stands March 11th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leicester City | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 2 | Leeds United | 37 | 40 | 79 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 37 | 25 | 78 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
| 5 | West Brom | 37 | 21 | 63 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 37 | 12 | 58 |
| 7 | Hull City | 37 | 7 | 58 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 37 | 16 | 57 |
Although making the playoffs is Coventry’s primary goal this season, they also have an amazing opportunity as they will play Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.
FA Cup a rare and exciting opportunity for Coventry
This season, Coventry has had a great run in the FA Cup. They defeated Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round after initially winning 6-2 over Oxford United in the third round. Coventry defeated non-league Maidstone—who were the talk of the competition this year—by five goals to zero in the fifth round.
Coventry would advance to the FA Cup semi-finals for just the second time in their history with a victory over Wolves on Saturday. The club has only advanced that far in the competition once, and that was in 1987 when they won the trophy. The Sky Blues had previously advanced to seven FA Cup quarterfinals, losing all but one of them.
Coventry’s matchup with a formidable Wolves team, who are presently ranked in the top half of the Premier League, will not be an easy one. The fact that Pedro Neto, Wolves’ star player, is absent gives the Sky Blues one advantage over Wolves. The Portuguese winger is out of Saturday’s match against Coventry after suffering an injury in the first half of their match against Fulham, according to Coventry Live.
Coventry must play their strongest XI
Coventry’s preparations for Saturday will be greatly bolstered by the news of Pedro Neto’s absence. It will be widely believed that they can defeat Wolves in a one-off match and advance to the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium.
Even though their only goal may be to place in the Championship play-offs, Coventry can’t let this unique chance to win the FA Cup pass them by. To win at Molineux, Mark Robins and his coaching team will need to select their best starting eleven before the match and give it their all.
Ellis Simms and Haji Wright, who are both very talented, need to start at the top for the Sky Blues. There is no need to rest either of them because they have combined for 26 goals this season across all competitions. Particularly Wright is having a tremendous season and ought to be listed first on the team roster.
Another player who helps Coventry tremendously up front is Callum O’Hare, an attacking midfielder. Despite only making 14 league appearances this season, the 25-year-old has been in and out of the starting lineup frequently. However, when he does play, he is one of Coventry’s most dangerous players, having assisted six goals and scored 13 in the Championship. If Mark Robins wants to score goals against a formidable Watford team this weekend, he should think about starting O’Hare.
The final say on the matter rests with Robins, but he should unquestionably start against Wolves with the lineup he feels is best. Coventry should give up on their play-off goal and focus entirely on Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final match against Arsenal, as they have a genuine chance to make history and earn a day out at Wembley.
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