Wolves will be aiming to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in five years when they face Championship outfit Coventry City on Saturday, but the Sky Blues will also fancy their chances of reaching Wembley in their first quarter-final since 2009.
#1 Inside both camps
Wolves were dealt another injury blow in the first half of their Premier League win over Fulham at Molineux last weekend, when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Pedro Neto were withdrawn early. They joined fellow forwards Hee Chan Hwang and Matheus Cunha in the treatment room, meaning Gary O’Neil has just Pablo Sarabia as a senior attacking option. However, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and midfielder Mario Lemina had a massive impact when they were moved up front last Saturday, while academy striker Nathan Fraser impressed on his first Premier League start, and with Cunha back in training this week, the head coach will have good options to choose from when Coventry head to the Black Country.
Coventry boss Mark Robins has almost a full squad to choose from for Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, with only Japanese international Tatsuhiro Sakamoto unavailable. The winger suffered a serious back injury in the recent home game with Preston North End, which will see him out for the rest of the season. In his first season for the Sky Blues, he scored seven times, and his absence has been a blow to the team as they fell to defeat against PNE after he was taken off, before another defeat a few days later to West Bromwich Albion, but they have responded in his absence with successive wins. Robins also has selection decisions to make after rotating his team for the cup matches this season, and it is yet to be seen if he is to go full strength at Molineux.
#2 Coming into it
With the exception of a disappointing visit to St James’ Park, Wolves have been in impressive form over their last five matches, picking up four wins, including a FA Cup fifth round victory against high flying Brighton & Hove Albion. Taking into account the attacking injuries O’Neil’s side have had to deal with during that time, Wolves will be confident they will have what it takes to make it into the semi-finals on Saturday.
Wolves’ last three | W 2-1 Fulham (H) – L 0-3 Newcastle United (A) – W 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion (H)
The Sky Blues picked up just three wins from their opening 16 Championship matches this campaign, but a run of just three league defeats since early December – coupled with the FA Cup run to the quarter-finals – has seen the side launch an attack on the play-offs with just two months of the season remaining.
Coventry’s last three | W 2-1 Watford (A) – W 5-0 Rotherham United (H) – L 1-2 West Bromwich Albion (A)
#3 Since last time
Wolves 1 Coventry City 1 | 19th October 2013
The last time the teams met at Molineux came all the way back more than a decade ago, with Wolves and Coventry going head-to-head in League One. On that day, the visitors snatched a late point in the Black Country through Aaron Phillips after Leigh Griffiths had opened the scoring for the Old Gold when he fired under Sky Blues’ keeper Joe Murphy following a Danny Batth knock down. Kenny Jackett’s side went on to win the third tier title with a record amount of points, and kickstarted Wolves’ rise to the club they are today, while Coventry clung onto their League One status that season before progressing into the Championship and then coming close to top flight promotion in recent seasons.
Wolves’ XI | Ikeme, Doherty, Batth, Ricketts, Goldbourne, Henry, Price, McDonald, Sako, Doyle, Griffths.
From the Wolves side which started against the Sky Blues last time out at Molineux, only right-back Matt Doherty will be part of O’Neil’s squad for Saturday’s fixture, while every member of the Coventry line-up is no longer at the club. Among that team that day, Leon Clarke now plays for Mickleover, Conor Thomas is at Crewe Alexandra, John Fleck plays for Blackburn Rovers and Callum Wilson is at Newcastle United.
Coventry’s XI | Murphy, Clarke, Willis, Adams, Webster, Baker, Thomas, Fleck, Moussa, Wilson, Clarke.
#4 In the media
BBC Sport journalist Phil Cartwright believes Wolves’ FA Cup quarter-final with Coventry has the potential to turn a ‘great season into a really, really special one’ for Gary O’Neil’s men.
“A raucous home crowd roared Nuno's Wolves to victory over Manchester United and sent them into the last four for the first time in 21 years. Many say it is the loudest they have ever heard it at Molineux. The effect of that backing has certainly been evident in Wolves' past two home matches. After taking the lead in the first two minutes of their fifth-round tie against Brighton, Wolves produced a solid defensive display to hold on to their 1-0 advantage with "Gary O'Neil's Barmy Army" a prolonged soundtrack in the closing stages.
“Then on Saturday against Fulham, a tiring side shorn of several injured attackers found energy from the home faithful to secure another three Premier League points. The wider football public might take another Wolves win for granted but, with the squad stretched and key players missing, it may not quite be that simple.”
Coventry Telegraph’s Andy Turner believes Mark Robins has an intriguing selection decision to make in terms of his goalkeepers ahead of this weekend’ FA Cup clash at Molineux.
“The Sky Blues boss has chopped and changed his goalkeepers in recent weeks in a season in which he insists he doesn’t have a set number one and understudy but two “really decent” players in Ben Wilson and Brad Collins, whom he wants to battle for the shirt. Wilson started the season following his stellar campaign in 2022/23 when he kept a club record breaking 22 clean sheets, won the Championship golden glove award and was named in the division’s Team of the Season.
“But 15 games into the current season, the 31-year-old was dropped and summer signing Brad Collins handed his chance to impress. However, after a run of 17 league games and eight without a clean sheet, Robins made a change again, pitching Wilson in against Stoke, against whom he duly kept a welcome shut-out. Wilson was picked for the third and fourth round FA Cup wins over Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday, and Collins may well have been drafted in to face Maidstone in the fifth round of the competition.”
