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Coventry vs Manchester United live score and goal updates as Casemiro in defence in FA Cup semi-final
Man United play Coventry City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday and we’ll bring you live updates from the game.
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BY SAMUEL LUCKHURST, TYRONE MARSHALL, GEORGE SMITH, STEVEN RAILSTON
UPDATED15:46, 21 APR 2024
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(Image: Getty)
Manchester United can progress to the final of the FA Cup with a win against Coventry City today.
United take on the Championship side at Wembley and must deliver an improved performance on their showing against Bournemouth last weekend. Although the points were shared against the Cherries in a 2-2 draw, Andoni Iraola’s side took the lead twice on the south coast and created more chances to score.
United fell short in the final of the FA Cup against Manchester City last season and this season’s competition is an opportunity to right the wrongs of the defeat in the derby. Regarding the team news, Scott McTominay and Antony are set to be available again and Harry Maguire should feature, despite picking up a small injury against Bournemouth.
Follow below for live updates from Wembley.
KEY EVENTS
TEAM NEWS | UNITED STARTING XI
14:30
15:45SAMUEL LUCKHURST
14′ – COV 0-0 MUN – United comfortable on the ball
Coventry are banking on the counter-attack and you wonder whether they should try and impose themselves more and try and build structured attacks against a disjointed United team that tries to press with a deep defence.
United are comfortably knocking the ball about and the humdrum atmosphere (we are sat in the Coventry end), suggests United fans are relaxed about the direction of play. United have been wilier during Coventry’s forays forward and Simms looks like he wishes Kambwala was starting.
15:43STEVEN RAILSTON
12′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Casemiro caught out
Casemiro was caught on the halfway line but Dalot recovered – that was brilliant defending.
15:41TYRONE MARSHALL
9′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Big occasion for Coventry
You can sense a fair bit of nervousness around Coventry at the moment. Passes being misplaced, taking too long on the ball, it’s been a shaky start, but a good one from United. Garnacho should have done better with his chance but they are seeing a lot of the ball and enjoying a lot of territory.
15:39STEVEN RAILSTON
7′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Coventry corner
United are far too easy to play through and Coventry’s fans have got their hopes up a few times now, with their team breaking forward into dangerous areas.
15:36SAMUEL LUCKHURST
5′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Avram Glazer is here
United have knocked the ball about quite serenely, as they should do against a second tier team. Neither side have made an outright fast start but United seem more at ease at a stadium they played at three times last year.
Avram Glazer and Jason Wilcox are in the royal box, as is Ratcliffe – George Ratcliffe (Sir Jim’s son).
15:34STEVEN RAILSTON
3′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Casemiro and Maguire tested
Both Casemiro and Maguire have been called into action. The latter just made a strong challenge to send the ball for a throw-in, which Coventry looked dangerous from.
15:32STEVEN RAILSTON
2′ – COV 0-0 MUN – Wilcox is here
Newly appointed technical director Jason Wilcox is here and Ratcliffe, who has just completed the London marathon at 71 years old, is expected in attendance.
15:30STEVEN RAILSTON
1′ – COV 0-0 MUN – KICK-OFF!
We’re under way at Wembley. United are the heavy favourites to progress to the final of the FA Cup but they never seem to win comfortably, so it should be interesting.
15:25STEVEN RAILSTON
The teams are out
Here we go, kick-off at Wembley is just moments away.
15:21SAMUEL LUCKHURST
Coventry fans are loving this
An unlistenable DJ set is not what a build-up should consist of with kick-off looming in an FA Cup semi-final. The FA learnt their lesson from the abominable Hard-Fi set before the 2012 final but seem to have regressed today. Let the supporters provide the noise.
The Coventry end is already full for their flag waving. The United end is sparser as many of their followers will arrive as close to kick-off as possible.
15:19STEVEN RAILSTON
10 minutes until kick-off
Not long until kick-off at Wembley – the atmosphere is cracking.
15:16TYRONE MARSHALL
Coventry fans are loud
Coventry end is significantly fuller than the United end with 15 minutes to kick-off. The Sky Blue flags are out in force as well, while the United end doesn’t look to have any bucket hats or free scarves this time.
15:14SAMUEL LUCKHURST
Simms could be a handful
I remember writing about a couple of former City trialists playing for United in a reserve game back in December 2016. Until last year, I did not realise one of the trialists was Ellis Simms.
Simms has been around the block for a 23-year-old. He was in City’s academy, has played in the Premier League, the Scottish Premiership, the Championship and League One. He has reasonable pedigree and must back himself to unnerve a depleted United defence today.
Ellis Simms is celebrating after scoring his team’s second goal during the FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Coventry City at Molineux in Wolverhampton, on March 16, 2024. (Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
15:06STEVEN RAILSTON
‘Old soldiers are dying’
Erik ten Hag spoke to MUTV ahead of the game and said:
“Old soldiers are dying and young soldiers have to step in. They are brave players and we know they will give their 100 per cent best, but, first of all, I think we have enough experience as well.
“We have Casemiro and Harry Maguire leading from the centre [centre-back] and Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield, so we have experience around the young players as well.”
15:01STEVEN RAILSTON
United emerge to warm up
The players emerged to warm up roughly around five minutes ago.
14:50STEVEN RAILSTON
The pick of the stats
United have won 13 of their past 15 meetings with Coventry. This will be the first game between the sides since September 2007, when the Sky Blues won 2-0 at Old Trafford in the League Cup.
United are playing in their 32nd FA Cup semi-final, two more than any other side. They could reach the final for a record 22nd time (currently tied with Arsenal on 21).
Coventry are playing in just their second FA Cup semi-final, previously beating Leeds in 1986-87 on their way to winning the trophy.
The Sky Blues have scored 19 goals in this season’s FA Cup, more than any other side. The last club from outside the top flight to score more in a campaign was Wrexham in 1977-78 (22).
Sides from outside the top-flight have lost their past six FA Cup semi-finals – most recently Sheffield United last season. The last side to reach the final was Cardiff City in 2008.
The pressure will all be on Erik ten Hag and Manchester United this weekend(Image: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
14:35TYRONE MARSHALL
The midfield could be a problem
The problem for United might not be that Casemiro drops into defence, but that the midfield now looks particularly open. McTominay takes up some very high positions in midfield under Ten Hag and it would be no surprise if all three midfielders were caught ahead of the ball in this game. Coventry will get chances as a result.
(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
14:32TYRONE MARSHALL
An unprecedented injury crisis
When you see the state of United’s injury record this season it’s impossible not to have some sympathy with Ten Hag. There are clear structural and tactical issues within this team, but it doesn’t help when you have to select 40 different starting XIs in 45 games, with 28 different back fours. It’s astonishing.
14:32SAMUEL LUCKHURST
No surprises with the team
No surprises with the United side. Once we got the squad yesterday, it was obvious there would be one change and who would come in.
United have confirmed Mount, Kambwala and Amrabat are all injured. So that is 60 cases of injury or illness that have caused a United player to miss a game this season.
14:31STEVEN RAILSTON
TEAM NEWS | COVENTRY STARTING XI
14:30KEY EVENT
TEAM NEWS | UNITED STARTING XI
XI | Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Maguire, Dalot, Mainoo, McTominay, Fernandes, Garnacho, Hojlund, Rashford.
Subs | Bayindir, Eriksen, Amad, Antony, Forson, Amass, Ogunneye, Jackson, Wheatley.
14:23STEVEN RAILSTON
Not long until team news
The official teams will be confirmed in just over five minutes or so.
14:22STEVEN RAILSTON
The arrival photos
Maguire, Ten Hag and Fernandes arriving.
14:13STEVEN RAILSTON
A blunder from Antony’s team
Antony’s team misspelt Coventry in their preview post on his Instagram Story. They’ve billed the semi-finalists as ‘Covertry’. That is an easy intro if Coventry ‘shock’ United today (it would not be a shock if United lost in a season where they have already been beaten 17 times).
14:10STEVEN RAILSTON
Jackson in the squad today
As reported by the MEN, Louis Jackson is in the United squad today.
14:06STEVEN RAILSTON
What do fans think about Ten Hag’s future?
The MEN spoke to fans on Wembley Way to gauge opinion on Ten Hag.
13:58SAMUEL LUCKHURST
United’s academy is outstanding
As dire as United’s injury situation is, the prominence of the academy has to be celebrated. It has been consistently the best thing about the club in the last ten years and there will be at least four graduates in the starting line-up today.
13:54TYRONE MARSHALL
Who plays at centre-back?
The big question for United today is who plays at centre-back. Casemiro will almost certainly be the answer but a partnership with Maguire would be bringing up the field with the fun runners in the London Marathon. McTominay has played in that role for Scotland. Louis Jackson will be on the bench. There are 29 players listed in the United squad on the back of the programme but it doesn’t include Louis Jackson or Ethan Wheatley. Stretched doesn’t really cover the state of this squad.
Casemiro of Manchester United(Image: James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
13:40GEORGE SMITH
Pick your starting line-up
Ahead of today’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, you can have your say on who should start for United via our interactive selector widget.
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*Selector was built ahead of fresh injury news being confirmed on Saturday.
13:30TYRONE MARSHALL
Coventry fans are gathering
There are far more Coventry fans milling around outside Wembley than United at the moment. Coventry have been serial visitors here in recent years as well but for many a game of this size is uncharted territory so you can understand they want to make the most of the build-up. United fans are used to semi-finals and are still frequenting the water holes nearby. Those Coventry fans certainly belief though. It sounds unthinkable but a shock is hardly out of the equation, given the way United have been playing and their ongoing injury problems.
(Image: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images.)
13:14GEORGE SMITH
Why Ten Hag is encouraged by United’s future
Erik ten Hag, in the build up to today’s game at Wembley, has said the level of quality within United’s academy is ‘going up’.
The Under-18s scooped the Under-18s Premier League North title earlier this week and could clinch a second piece of silverware when they face Manchester City in the Under-18s Premier League Cup at Leigh Sports Village on Tuesday night.
While there is no doubt that United, at this moment in time, need to focus on the here and now, Ten Hag is encouraged by the progress being made within the academy.
He told United’s club website:
“What’s very hopeful is that United is back to winning leagues with young teams, academy teams, but also producing players like Alejandro Garnacho, like Kobbie Mainoo. And it’s all about this, to produce players for the first-team. And there was, I think, a little gap in the last decades, but it looks like now United is back. The quality in the academy looks like it’s going up. And as a result of this, they are winning leagues and they’re going for cups. So they won also the FA (Youth) Cup in 2022 and producing players. And at the end of the day, that is why we have the academy.”
Click here to read the full story.
(Image: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images.)
13:00SAMUEL LUCKHURST
United fans making their presence felt early
There were a lot of Arsenal fans milling around St Pancras on their way to the women’s game today. The closer one got to the Met Line, the more red, white and black bar scarves there were. ‘Oh Manchester is wonderful’ is the first chant to be heard at Baker Street.
You can tell groups of United fans a mile off by the black dress code and Adidas Originals that many swear by. It is still a while to go until kick-off but Wembley is pretty remote and the majority of United supporters at the game today have frequented the nearby watering holes before.
There is a more visible police presence than usual on a trip to London, given the Marathon is already underway.
(Image: Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images.)
12:45GEORGE SMITH
Wembley is in sight
Our United writer Steven Railston is walking along Wembley Way ahead of this afternoon’s FA Cup semi-final.
12:30SAMUEL LUCKHURST
Ten Hag needs correcting
Erik ten Hag said again on Friday the only time he has been able to play his best XI was against City at home last season. Someone needs to correct him as Diogo Dalot was injured for that win, Tyrell Malacia started and Lisandro Martinez was on the bench. He is correct in saying there has only been one game where he has played his strongest side. That was away to Wolves in February.
(Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images.)
12:15SAMUEL LUCKHURST
Don’t bank on United making it easy for themselves
United’s league season was a write-off two weeks ago, so circling the date May 25 on the calendar would provide the run-in with a sense of occasion and purpose. Coventry have won two and lost three since their quarter-final comeback at Wolves. They will back themselves to unsettle United (and so would most United observers). Of United’s 21 wins this season, only a handful have been straightforward and there have been a meagre six wins by a margin of two goals or more. Two were against Everton, two against Football League teams, one in the League Cup and the other against West Ham.
United were battered in the first half at Goodison Park, were gifted two penalties in the return fixture, League Two Newport drew level and Crystal Palace lulled United into a false sense of security, winning on their return to Old Trafford in the league three days later. David Moyes correctly said West Ham performed better in their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford than their 2-0 win over United.
A commanding win would be welcomed by those of us in the press box down from Manchester. There have been 29 goals in the 80th minute and beyond in United’s 90-minute matches this season. That such a win against Championship opposition would be seen as some sort of feat by United tells its own story.
(Image: Athena Pictures/Getty Images.)
12:00GEORGE SMITH
United’s road to Wembley
United’s journey to this afternoon’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley has featured a varied crop of challenges, ranging from a trip to Newport County to a historic 4-3 win over Liverpool.
With that in mind, here is a quick reminder of their 2023/24 FA Cup adventure thus far:
Round 3: Wigan Athletic 0-2 United
Round 4: Newport County 2-4 United
Round 5: Nottingham Forest 0-1 United
Quarter-final: United 4-3 Liverpool
(Image: 2024 Manchester United FC)
11:45SAMUEL LUCKHURST
Injuries keep on mounting
The absences of Willy Kambwala, Sofyan Amrabat and Mason Mount at Stockport Station yesterday could take United’s injury and illness toll up to 60 today. More pressing is United’s central defence. Harry Maguire may be the only centre half with first team experience available today.
Louis Jackson, a starter in the FA Youth Cup final win two years ago, has travelled but the likelihood is Casemiro will drop back next to Maguire and Scott McTominay will come in alongside Kobbie Mainoo.
STEVEN RAILSTON
Welcome
Hello and welcome to today’s Manchester United live match blog. Erik ten Hag’s side will take on Coventry in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and we’ll bring you updates from the clash.
United are 10 points adrift of the Champions League places in the league and potentially winning the FA Cup is the only glimmer of light remaining this season.
Coventry, who are managed by former United player Mark Robins, lost 3-0 against Championship strugglers Birmingham City last weekend.
Stick with us for build-up to the match and updates throughout.
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