Anyone who dismisses Coventry City against Wolves does so at their peril

Coventry City face a big weekend with the opportunity to book the club’s fourth day out at Wembley in the last seven years – quite an achievement if they can pull it off. Wolverhampton Wanderers stand in their way, a re-established Premier League club in their sixth season back at the top table of English football, and currently going great guns with nine wins, three draws and just three defeats in their last 15 matches in all competitions.

Sitting comfortably in ninth place in the division, Gary O’Neil’s side are looking up, pushing for a strong finish on two fronts in the league and FA Cup, just like the Sky Blues. Mark Robins’ men go into Saturday’s match at Molineux as the underdogs, of that there is no question. There’s obviously a disparity in quality and finances that means, on paper, that the top flight side should prosper.

But we all know that it doesn’t always work like that and the FA Cup, in particular, has a knack of throwing up upsets and surprises. City have certainly been on both ends of a few over the years, embarrassed and humbled by lower and non-league outfits while also occasional ‘giant’ killers. The most recent shock was the 2-1 2018 third round victory over then Premiership Stoke in Coventry’s first season down in League Two.

They then went incredibly close in the fourth round in 2022 when they took Southampton to extra-time, giving the Saints a real scare and matching them almost every step of the way with an outstanding performance. And heading into Saturday’s game, Sky Blues fans will know that if their team plays to their best on the day, they have every chance of progressing to the semi-final and writing yet another chapter in the club’s modern day history.

It appears to be a good time to face Wolves who, while full of confidence from recent results, are expected to be without two of their top players in Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, leaving O’Neil with only one senior forward in Pablo Sarabia. That’s not to say they haven’t got plenty of young quality to fill in, but every little bit helps in a game of fine margins.

City will certainly be up for the challenge, the players all keen to test themselves against Premier League class and giving that little bit extra in front of what will be a red hot atmosphere in which the Sky Blue Army will more than play their part on the day. Meanwhile the home fans will, no doubt, see a win for their side as a foregone conclusion. But anyone who dismisses Robins’ men does so at their peril.

The club has designs on Premier League football and a result would go a long way to bolstering the players’ belief that they can drive on to the play-offs and have a crack at joining their opponents in the big time. But whatever happens on the day, all we can ask for is a performance of which everyone can be proud, and see where it takes them. As long as they put up a fight, that’s all anyone can ask.