Sideways Sammy

Getting a first league win on the board at the second opportunity provides Coventry City with some breathing room as they look to navigate this new season with a fresh-look squad. There were signs of what the Sky Blues might be looking to evolve towards last time out against Middlesbrough – most notably, with a greater emphasis being placed on possession – but it still the earliest of days and the playing style is likely to go through several iterations until the team’s key protagonists are established.

Next up is a trip to Swansea City, a team that Coventry City have not won against since the 1980s and a place the Sky Blues have not won in since the 1940s. A win here would be a significant feather in the cap of this new team, and it would also tick off an important early milestone of that first away victory and prevent any mental blocks setting in during the nascent months of the campaign.

Expected Line-Up

With no new additions to the squad, at the time of writing, Mark Robins’ team selection for this game will likely be informed by the performance last week against Middlesbrough. After a week’s rest from the last fixture, the manager is freer than he was last time out to pick who he feels are currently his best XI players, which will make this the most interesting team selection of the campaign thus far.

Given how limited the manager’s options are in defence and midfield, it is the attack that is the key area of interest ahead of this game. It feels simplistic, but Matt Godden and Haji Wright scoring last week makes them the likely strike duo here. The alternative option, Ellis Simms, has yet to get going in a Coventry City shirt, so it makes sense to keep Godden in the side while he’s in form and to hand Wright a first league start to get the club’s record signing bedded into the team as quickly as possible.

Elsewhere, the only other area to look out for is possibly at wing-back, as that is the only place Mark Robins has room to change things up. However, Jay Dasilva and Milan van Ewijk look to be the pair that the manager wants as first-choice and there isn’t much reason to change things up, albeit, Jake Bidwell’s defensive nous could be useful in an away game, while Tatsuhiro Sakamoto caught the eye off the bench off the right last time out.

Last Time We Met

Off the back of that 4-0 defeat to Stoke City at the CBS Arena, Coventry City made the trip to Swansea City looking to regain confidence ahead of the final weeks of the campaign. It was a defence-first approach from the Sky Blues, which possibly gave the Swans a little too much respect when there was a chance to grab the win had the team showed a touch more ambition. In the end, both teams missed some decent chances but neither really did enough to win the game in a drab 0-0 draw.

The Opposition

The Manager – Mike Duff

A key reason why Mark Robins showed so much respect to Swansea City back in April was out of fear of what they might do to the Sky Blues with their possession heavy approach under Russell Martin. However, Martin has since left the club to join recently-relegated Southampton, with Mike Duff the man hired to replace him. One of the most talented young English managers, Duff is an excellent appointment for the Swans, but he will bring a different approach to the club than his predecessor.

Seen as a defence-first manager from his time at the financially-limited Cheltenham Town, Duff showed last year at Barnsley that he can evolve his style to something more proactive while at a bigger club. Defensive organisation and set-piece threat may remain key tools in Duff’s managerial arsenal, with Swansea currently joint-top of the Championship for shots from set-plays and have conceded the second-fewest shots in open play. While it’s still very early in the season, just what the approach will be with possession and in terms of pressing remains to be seen.

Who To Look Out For?

The question hanging over this Swansea City side currently is whether star striker, Joel Piroe will stay at the club. The intelligent Dutch forward is excellent at floating into scoring areas and finishing with accuracy, while also capable of linking play and providing a reasonable physical presence in attack. Having scored around 20 goals in the past two Championship seasons, it is clear why he is the subject of transfer speculation, but that has yet to materialise into anything concrete, with Piroe likely to line up for the Swans in this game.

In Jerry Yates, Swansea City look to have Piroe’s replacement already in place. The former Blackpool forward is different in style to Piroe, with his game centred around pace and pressing, but he will likely be tasked with the primary responsibility of replacing the Dutch forward’s goals. As a duo, Piroe’s link play and Yates’ pace makes for a dangerous combination. Additionally, Nuneaton-born, Josh Ginnelly will offer pace and ball-carrying from the bench, along with goals, having been prolific off the wing last year for Heart of Midlothian.

Having been a team that has put so much emphasis on keeping the ball in recent years, central midfield is a key area of strength for Swansea City. Led by the excellent Matt Grimes, who can really run a game from the centre of the park with his passing and understanding of how to get into areas to receive the ball, Jay Fulton adds some physicality, while Ollie Cooper provides goal threat from the middle of the park. On top of that, Swansea have made the excellent loan addition of the talented Charlie Patino, a small but intelligent ball-player, to bolster their options in that area of the pitch.

At the back, Mike Duff is still looking to drill in organisation into a back-line that has been used to being focused on hoarding possession, with the physical duo of Nathan Wood and Ben Cabango likely to be key for the manager in the early months of the season. A third centre-back to replace the technically-gifted but lightweight, Harry Darling, seems likely before the end of the transfer window. Duff’s evolution of Swansea is apparent in the replacement of Andy Fisher in goal, a keeper who had been in the team for his ball-playing first and goalkeeping second, with Brighton & Hove Albion youngster, Carl Rushworth, an excellent reaction goalkeeper.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This is a very different Swansea City side than the one Coventry City have played in recent years. The emphasis has changed from hoarding the ball to keeping the opposition out and looking to create via set-pieces. This game is going to have a very different flow to the one back in April and it could end up being the Sky Blues who see most of the possession.

That will be if Mark Robins looks to persist with last week’s plan against Middlesbrough of playing short passes at the back in order to draw the opposition up the pitch, before getting the ball quickly into the strikers or wing-backs to exploit the space that has opened up. With the same set of personnel available, that could be likely, but the manager may look to return to a counter-attacking focus given that this is an away game.

Whatever style the Sky Blues look to deploy, Haji Wright is likely to be key in this game. Either plan is centred around the strikers running directly at the opposing defence, and the American’s physical frame, mobility and touch will be valuable in taking advantage of those opportunities. Additionally, the wing-backs, Milan van Ewijk and Jay Dasilva, will need to be direct and use the ball well when the team looks to move from defence to attack quickly.

For Swansea City, the early weeks of the season have seen them place a big emphasis on creating chances from set-pieces as Mike Duff looks for his first league win. Coventry City are going to have to be wary of dead-ball opportunities sent towards the big centre-backs, Ben Cabango and Nathan Wood. Additionally, if the Sky Blues look to build patiently from defence, Jerry Yates’ running off-the-ball could disrupt the team’s rhythm and create promising turnovers for the home side.