Wolves vs Coventry tips and predictions: Championship side to put up a fight

Wolves will face another midlands opponent on Saturday as they welcome Coventry to Molineux with a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals up for grabs.

Gary O’Neil’s side needed extra time to beat Brentford and snuck past Brighton with an early goal either side of an ill-tempered win against West Brom.

City are the competition's top scorers since the third round, having scored 16 goals but all their ties have been against teams below them in the football pyramid.

Facing a Premier League side represents a big step up and the Sky Blues have not toppled top-flight opposition since the 2007/08 season.

One of Iain Dowie’s final acts as manager of relegation-threatened Cov was to stun a Blackburn side that finished seventh in the Premier League.

They’ve won five of 20 away games in the competition since and haven’t beaten a side ranked above them.

On the other hand, Wolves have navigated the threat of banana skin ties well. They’ve lost three of 12 home ties against Premier League sides.

They’re also starting to build momentum at Molineux after a recent wobble. O’Neil’s side have won three on the bounce here and have lost just three of their last 15 at home.

Cov have been equally stubborn in the Championship. Mark Robins' side have tasted defeat just four times in 26 outings, but again, this is a step up.

Their midfield setup is one of the few in the Championship that looks capable of troubling top opposition and they’ve shown how capable they are at soaking up pressure.

The consensus is that the Premier League team advance but it would be ignorant to put this down as an easy home win, so we’ll take a shot on the visitors causing issues.

 

Team news

Hee-Chan Hwang are Matheus Cunha are ruled out while Pedro Neto is a major doubt.

That limits their options and could lead to starts for Nathan Frazer, Toti Gomes and Jeanricner Bellegarde.

Jamie Allen and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto are unavailable while Victor Torp is doubtful.

 

Key stats

- Wolves have scored in 16 of 17 home matches
- Wolves have seen over 2.5 goals scored in 11 of 17 home matches
- Coventry have scored in their last 13 away matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals in 10 of Coventry’s last 13 away matches

 

Suggested bets

Coventry +0.75 Asian handicap

Both teams to score

Over 2.5 goals