Both United and City have a long heritage but it wasn't until 1936 when Coventry won promotion from the Southern section of the old Third Division (as Champions) that the two Cities met one another in the Football League. The first ever professional meeting took place on 28 November and the game was drawn 2-2 at Bramall Lane before City won on 3rd April by two goals to nil at their former Highfield Road ground.
The Blades claimed their first ever victory over the Sky Blues in their third face-to-face on Christmas Day 1937 - winning 3-2 at the Lane which put them top of the league and between then and 1952 the red and white of Sheffield would go nine (six wins and three draws) games unbeaten and during this run in 1949/50 United would claim their biggest victory over City by winning 4-2.
Between 1967 and 1994 any meetings between the two sides became top flight issues, though there was a brief period of absence on United's part between 1976 and 1990. It was on Boxing Day 1991 that City recorded their biggest victory over the Blades (3-0). Then City manager Terry Butcher was quoted saying; ``I would give up all my Christmas presents for a win at Sheffield United," and it must have been a 'Merry Christmas' in the Butcher household as his team netted three times in 17 minutes to storm into a three goal lead.
No head to head statistics could go a-miss without mentioning the FA Cup battles of 1997/98 where the Blades lost in the semi-finals to Newcastle United (1-0) at Old Trafford. It was during this glorious cup-run that saw United drawn against Coventry City in the Quarter-Finals stage - City was an established Premier League outfit whilst United were competing in the Second Division for the third season running. City was expected to put an end to any advances in the cup at Highfield Road but under interim manager Steve Thompson United were battlers.
The hosts had unexpectedly taken a late first half lead when Dion Dublin netted from the penalty spot but United came out with assurance in the second half and equalised through Brazilian born striker Marcelo who famously celebrated by ripping off his shirt and launching it into the United crowed only to reveal another shirt underneath, he must have known his chance would come. Towards the death the Blades had a chance to steal the tie but after Petr Katchouro had rounded Steve Ogrizovic he failed to put it into the net at a tight angle.
And so a replay at Bramall Lane was played out and in dramatic fashion! Expectedly it was the top flight side who took the lead when future Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Trond-Egil Soltvedt was fouled 35 yards from goal after only 10 minutes. He picked himself up and his low drive found the net and United, despite a number of attempts on goal left it late when a last ditch assault on the City goal - in front of the kop end saw a swinging volley turned home from defender David Holdsworth. Extra-Time prevailed and without any more goals the game went to penalties with the Blades (and hero Alan Kelly) winning 3-1 on spot kicks, it was truly another memorable night at the Lane which will surely never to be forgotten.
The League One battles of 2012-13 season were the first time that this fixture took place outside of the top two Divisions of English Football, in all they met three times that season having met also in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the Northern Quarter-Final stage.
They first met at the Ricoh Arena on 21 August, drawing 1-1 - though fell behind when Coventry scored through Stephen Elliott (62 minutes but made amends minutes from time through Nick Blackman (84) to score his first league goal for the club. They last met at the Ricoh (before switching to Sixfields) in the JPT on 4 December, a Harry Maguire own goal (58) gave the hosts the lead until David McAllister (81) sprung up with an equaliser and with the scores level at 90 minutes under competition rules a straight penalty shoot-out was played out with United on the losing end; City winning 4-1.
On 1 February City won at Bramall Lane by two goals to one; United thought they had drawn the match level when Dave Kitson (72) headed home in the second half to cancel out Leon Clarke's (14 & 87) first time effort but the former Sheffield Wednesday striker pounced again to net the winner and leave United clinging onto that last play-off spot.
Previous Match Reports:
10 Aug 2002 - Coventry City 2 Blades 1
28 Dec 2002 - Blades 0 Coventry City 0
30 Aug 2003 - Blades 2 Coventry City 1
26 Dec 2003 - Coventry City 0 Blades 1
25 Sep 2004 - Blades 1 Coventry City 1
26 Dec 2004 - Coventry City 1 Blades 2
27 Aug 2005 - Blades 2 Coventry City 1
11 Mar 2006 - Coventry City 2 Blades 0
01 Dec 2007 - Coventry City 0 Blades 1
11 Mar 2008 - Blades 2 Coventry City 1
16 Sep 2008 - Blades 1 Coventry City 1
04 Mar 2009 - Coventry City 1 Blades 2
15 Sep 2009 - Coventry City 3 Blades 2
10 Apr 2010 - Blades 1 Coventry City 0
30 Oct 2010 - Blades 0 Coventry City 1
15 Jan 2011 - Coventry City 0 Blades 0
21 Aug 2012 - Coventry City 1 Blades 1
04 Dec 2012 - Coventry City 1 Blades (JPT)
01 Feb 2013 - Blades 1 Coventry City 2
| At Sheff. Utd. (27) | At Coventry City (28) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results | Total | % | Results | Total | % | |
| Sheff. Utd. | 10 | 37.04 | Coventry City | 10 | 35.71 | |
| Coventry City |
8 |
29.63 |
Sheff. Utd. |
8 |
28.57 |
|
| Draws | 9 | 33.33 | Draws | 10 | 35.71 | |
| Goals | Total | Av.pg | Goals | Total | Av.pg | |
| Sheff. Utd. | 29 | 1.07 | Coventry City | 40 | 1.43 | |
| Coventry City | 25 | 0.93 | Sheff. Utd. | 36 | 1.29 | |
| On Neutral Ground (0) | Overall (55 matches) | |||||
| Results | Total | % | Results | Total | % | |
| Sheff. Utd. | 0 | 0.00 | Sheff. Utd. | 18 | 32.73 | |
| Coventry City | 0 | 0.00 | Coventry City | 18 | 32.73 | |
| Draws | 0 | 0.00 | Draws | 19 | 34.55 | |
| Goals | Total | Av.pg | Goals | Total | Av.pg | |
| Sheff. Utd. | 0 | 0.00 | Sheff. Utd. | 65 | 1.18 | |
| Coventry City | 0 | 0.00 | Coventry City | 65 | 1.18 | |
| Records | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Aggregate | 6 | Coventry City | 2 - 4 | Sheff. Utd. | 1949/1950 |
| Highest Sheff. Utd. score: | 4 | Coventry City | 2 - 4 | Sheff. Utd. | 1949/1950 |
| Highest Coventry City score: | 3 | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 3 | Coventry City | 1991/1992 |
| Season | Date | Home | Score | Away | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/2013 | Fri 01 Feb | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 2 | Coventry City | League One |
| Tue 04 Dec | Coventry City | 1 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | (Associate Members) | |
| Coventry City won 4-1 on penalties | |||||
| Tue 21 Aug | Coventry City | 1 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | League One | |
| 2010/2011 | Sat 15 Jan | Coventry City | 0 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship |
| Sat 30 Oct | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 1 | Coventry City | Championship | |
| 2009/2010 | Sat 10 Apr | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 0 | Coventry City | Championship |
| Tue 15 Sep | Coventry City | 3 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship | |
| 2008/2009 | Wed 04 Mar | Coventry City | 1 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship |
| Tue 16 Sep | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 1 | Coventry City | Championship | |
| 2007/2008 | Tue 11 Mar | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 1 | Coventry City | Championship |
| Sat 01 Dec | Coventry City | 0 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship | |
| 2005/2006 | Sat 11 Mar | Coventry City | 2 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship |
| Sat 27 Aug | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 1 | Coventry City | Championship | |
| 2004/2005 | Sun 26 Dec | Coventry City | 1 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | Championship |
| Sat 25 Sep | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 1 | Coventry City | Championship | |
| 2003/2004 | Fri 26 Dec | Coventry City | 0 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | League Division One |
| Sat 30 Aug | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 1 | Coventry City | League Division One | |
| 2002/2003 | Sat 28 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 0 | Coventry City | League Division One |
| Sat 10 Aug | Coventry City | 2 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | League Division One | |
| 2001/2002 | Wed 06 Mar | Coventry City | 1 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | League Division One |
| Sat 15 Sep | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 1 | Coventry City | League Division One | |
| 1997/1998 | Tue 17 Mar | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 1 | Coventry City | F.A. Cup |
| after extra time, 90 minutes 1-1, Sheffield United won 3-1 on penalties | |||||
| Sat 07 Mar | Coventry City | 1 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | F.A. Cup | |
| 1993/1994 | Sat 12 Feb | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 0 | Coventry City | Premiership |
| Sun 31 Oct | Coventry City | 0 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | Premiership | |
| 1992/1993 | Wed 24 Mar | Coventry City | 1 - 3 | Sheff. Utd. | Premier League |
| Sat 28 Nov | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 1 | Coventry City | Premier League | |
| 1991/1992 | Thu 26 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 3 | Coventry City | First Division |
| Wed 28 Aug | Coventry City | 3 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division | |
| 1990/1991 | Sat 04 May | Coventry City | 0 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division |
| Sat 27 Oct | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 1 | Coventry City | First Division | |
| 1975/1976 | Sat 10 Jan | Coventry City | 1 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division |
| Sat 13 Sep | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 1 | Coventry City | First Division | |
| 1974/1975 | Fri 28 Mar | Coventry City | 2 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division |
| Fri 20 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 0 | Coventry City | First Division | |
| 1973/1974 | Sat 06 Apr | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 1 | Coventry City | First Division |
| Sat 24 Nov | Coventry City | 3 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division | |
| 1972/1973 | Sat 21 Apr | Sheff. Utd. | 3 - 1 | Coventry City | First Division |
| Sat 18 Nov | Coventry City | 3 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division | |
| 1971/1972 | Tue 18 Apr | Coventry City | 3 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division |
| Sat 13 Nov | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 0 | Coventry City | First Division | |
| 1967/1968 | Sat 23 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 0 | Coventry City | First Division |
| Sat 26 Aug | Coventry City | 2 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | First Division | |
| 1951/1952 | Sat 26 Jan | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 2 | Coventry City | Second Division |
| Sat 22 Sep | Coventry City | 1 - 1 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division | |
| 1950/1951 | Sat 21 Apr | Coventry City | 2 - 3 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division |
| Sat 02 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 0 | Coventry City | Second Division | |
| 1949/1950 | Sat 17 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 1 - 1 | Coventry City | Second Division |
| Sat 20 Aug | Coventry City | 2 - 4 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division | |
| 1938/1939 | Sat 29 Apr | Coventry City | 0 - 3 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division |
| Mon 29 Aug | Sheff. Utd. | 0 - 0 | Coventry City | Second Division | |
| 1937/1938 | Mon 27 Dec | Coventry City | 2 - 2 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division |
| Sat 25 Dec | Sheff. Utd. | 3 - 2 | Coventry City | Second Division | |
| 1936/1937 | Sat 03 Apr | Coventry City | 2 - 0 | Sheff. Utd. | Second Division |
| Sat 28 Nov | Sheff. Utd. | 2 - 2 | Coventry City | Second Division | |