Coventry - Manchester United predictions and free betting tips [21/04/2024]

On Sunday, 21st April, within the framework of the English Cup semi-final, Coventry City will clash against Manchester United. On the previous round, the representative of the Championship sensationally knocked Wolverhampton out of the tournament, while the Red Devils dealt with Liverpool in extra time.

Coventry City

Even though Coventry is an underdog in the English Cup semi-final, there is clearly no intending to surrender without a fight. In previous rounds, the Bantams defeated Oxford United (6:2), Sheffield Wednesday (4:1 in the replay), Maidstone (5:0) and Wolverhampton (2:3) thanks to goals from Ellis Simms and Haji Wright. After being in the third division of English football, the white and blues have been dwelling in the Championship since 2020. Last season, manager Mark Robin's team was close to moving up to the EPL and is likely to fight for the play-off this season. With 4 rounds to the end of the championship, the nominal hosts occupy the eighth place in the tournament table and lag behind the sixth-place Norwich City by eight points with a game in hand. In this regard, Coventry suffered two consecutive losses in April - against Southampton (2:1) and Birmingham City (3:0) last weekend.

It is noteworthy that the underdog is playing only their second English Cup semi-final in history - the previous one occurred way back in 1987 when it managed to thrash Leeds United. Midfielder Kasey Palmer picked up a yellow card in the last round at Molineux, which turned out to be his second in the tournament, resulting in him missing the Wembley duel on account of suspension - he will be replaced by Callum O'Hare. Key winger Sakamoto (7 goals and 2 assists in the championship) and midfielder Jamie Allen are also unavailable due to injuries, apart from these, the coaching staff can count on the optimal line-up. In particular, winger Wright (15 goals and 6 assists) and striker Simms (13 goals) are Coventry's main attacking assets and are likely to start.

Manchester United

Having last won the English Cup in 2016, Manchester United have a great chance to make it to the final in the current campaign. In previous rounds, Erik ten Hag's team defeated Wigan (0:2), Newport (2:4), Nottingham Forest (0:1) and Liverpool (4:3 after extra time) thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo, however, the Mancunians are not meeting expectations in the league. At the moment, the profound club is only 7th in the Premier League table, falling 10 points short of the European zone. What's more, in a recent seven match streak in all, the nominal guests have only won once, drew three times, and lost three times. In April, the Red Devils shared points with Liverpool (2:2) and Bournemouth last weekend (2:2).

A triumph on Saturday would allow Manchester United - a 12-time English Cup winner - to set a new absolute record for reaching the tournament final (for the 22nd time). The Red and Whites will also miss several key players due to injuries. Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Lindelöf, and McTominay, who are defenders, and Malesia and Martial are among them. Moreover, the physical form of centre-backs Varane and Evans is still in question. Playmaker Bruno Fernandes (8 goals and 6 assists), who has hit fine form in recent weeks, is sure to make the line-up; Garnacho (7 goals and 3 assists), Rashford (7 goals and 2 assists), and Højlund (7 goals and 2 assists) will back the Portuguese in the attack. Dalot and Van-Bissaka are set to patrol the defensive flanks, whilst Casemiro is accountable for the reliability of the supporting area.

Head-to-head

In their last head-to-head match between these teams in the 2007/08 English League Cup campaign, Coventry vanquished the favourite on Old Trafford with a score of 0:2.

Prediction for the Coventry City - Manchester United match

Robins' charges are struck by a crisis at the most untimely part of the season, as the vivid evidence of three defeats in their last four matches. Being the Championship representative, Coventry significantly concedes to the Mancunians in class and personnel, yet, for Ten Hag's men, the English Cup is the last chance to compensate for failures in other competitions. My prediction - victory for the favourites.