Latibeaudiere relishing FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United | OneFootball

Former City Academy graduate Joel Latibeaudiere says facing Manchester United has always been a big occasion throughout his career.

Throughout his time in our youth system, the current Coventry defender captained our Under-18s to the Premier League Under-18 North title and FA Youth Cup final in 2017 before departing for Swansea in 2020.

After joining our ranks at the age of 12, he often faced our city-rivals in a variety of competitions across numerous age groups.

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However, his potential next meeting with United could be the most important yet as Mark Robins’ team face Erik ten Hag’s side in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

And Latibeaudiere is relishing the prospect of renewing old rivalries in the capital.

“Yeah [I’m feeling] confident. We all are to be fair,” he declared.

“We know what we’re capable of and I think we’re capable of hurting any team when we’re on it.

“We’ve got a great coaching staff and group – hopefully there are no injuries so we can go in there full steam ahead.

“They’re the stages I want to play on. I want to play on the biggest stages and have the most pressure on me.

“It’s massive. We’ve always had that rivalry. I’d been at City since I was 12, so it was always a big game. But playing them at Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup will be massive.”

Latibeaudiere has made an impressive 44 appearances for Coventry this season in all competitions so far as they search for FA Cup glory and a place in the Championship play-offs.

It represents the most the versatile defender has made in a single season across his senior career.

What’s more, he also helped Jamaica finish third in the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2024 – making seven outings in the tournament.

Ahead of a potentially huge final furlong in 2023/24, the 24-year-old believes the term has already been the best of his career to date.

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He added: “It’s been a great year for me. It’s probably been the best year for me in my playing career so far.

“I’ve played a lot of games, I’ve captained the side, I’ve done great with Jamaica and we’ve won a medal there.

“Just to top it off we have a semi-final against Manchester United and we’re looking to get into the Play-Offs. It’s a really exciting end and I hope we can all stay fit and get over the line.”