We’ve reached the FA Cup fifth round and this is where the remaining sixteen clubs can really start to dream about a place at Wembley. There are drastically different teams left in the competition and with so much on the line, we’re excited to see how these eight games play out. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one of the most talked-about matches of the round as Coventry City play host to Maidstone United.
Coventry Form GuideCoventry City are a team to watch this season as they continue to chase down promotion back to the Premier League. They came close by reaching the play-off final last year and this time around, they’ll be confident in their ability to get back to the big dance. In addition, this tie gives them a great chance of getting to within just one step of an appearance in the semi-finals at Wembley.
In the third round of the competition, Coventry tore Oxford apart with a convincing 6-2 victory. Then, after drawing 1-1 with Sheffield United in the fourth, they confirmed their place in the fifth round with a 4-1 win over the Owls in the replay.
Maidstone Form GuideMaidstone United are on cloud nine as they approach a historic appearance in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The sixth tier side continue to make history and while it may sound cheesy, they truly do represent the magic of the cup. George Elokobi is working wonders and based on how they’ve performed thus far in the competition, we can’t imagine they’ll have any fear as they head to the Midlands.
Maidstone’s journey began in the second qualifying round when they defeated Steyning Town 4-1. From there, they beat Winchester 2-0, before defeating Torquay 2-0 to reach the first round proper. They went on to beat Chesham United and Barrow, and then, things got really interesting as they managed to spring a 1-0 upset over Stevenage before beating Championship promotion chasers Ipswich 2-1.
Match PredictionCoventry are clearly the favourites to come away with the win here but after what Maidstone accomplished against Ipswich, anything is possible. We do expect the Sky Blues to win, but in terms of an official prediction, we’re instead going to shoot for over 2.5 goals scored.