Wolves travel to Coventry City on Saturday lunchtime with a great chance of reaching an FA Cup semi-final and two-time winner, Cesc Fabregas has issued three things that Gary O’Neil’s side must do.
Wolves booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 last month.
It has set up a tie with Championship side Coventry City, who are currently chasing the play-offs in the second tier.
Gary O’Neil’s side are looking to reach the semi-finals for the first time since being knocked out by Watford in 2019.
Despite arriving as favourites and boasting superior quality to their Championship opponents, the visitors have to avoid complacency to book their place in the last four of the competition.
O’Neil will know that the Ricoh Arena isn’t the easiest place to go at the best of times, so given the hosts anticipate a packed-out stadium cheering their side on, Wolves could be in for a difficult time.
That is certainly a notion shared by midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who won the competition on two occasions with Arsenal in 2005 and Chelsea in 2018.
Cesc Fabregas anticipates a difficult match for Wolves against Coventry
As a two-time winner, Fabregas knows how difficult it is to play against a side in the division below, especially in the latter stages of the FA Cup.
Speaking on the Planet Premier League podcast, the Spaniard has issued three things that Wolves must do against the Sky Blues.
“But again, you know how it is to play quarterfinals; at Coventry in this case, going to the Championship, League One, League Two,” said Fabregas. “They are very very difficult games sometimes away from home, I think you need to be humble, you need to respect and you need to work very hard. If you do these three things, then the quality will make the difference.”
Fabregas is right
Wolves should never take their opposition for granted and as Fabregas said, they must be humble, show respect and work hard for each other.
Fortunately, during O’Neil’s tenure at the club, the foundations of their success have been built from those three ingredients, so they should have no problem carrying out those attributes on Saturday.
In the early stages, the hosts will likely come fast out of the blocks and try to catch the visitors out cold.
O’Neil’s men have to avoid conceding in the early stages, dictate large spells of possession and hopefully produce that moment of quality on the counter.
After all, the Wanderers have already shown they can come through high-pressured matches having beaten Black Country rivals West Brom 2-0 in the fourth round.
If they can execute a similar approach here, supporters will be getting ready to book their Wembley tickets.