Coventry City had finished the previous season in tenth place in the Football League First Division, the highest level of English football. As a First Division club, they entered the 1988–89 FA Cup at the third round, and at that time were in fifth position in the league, having won their previous league match five days earlier 5–0, including a hat-trick from David Speedie, against Sheffield Wednesday. Coventry had been knocked out of the FA Cup in the previous season in the fourth round, losing 1–0 against Watford, but had won the competition in the 1986–87 season, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 in the final.