Sideways Sammy

Coventry City now have a draw to go alongside their one win and one defeat this season. It makes for a solid start which, after a big squad turnover this summer and with time left in the transfer window, should be deemed acceptable. It is going to take time for things to settle down with this team and these opening weeks of the season are as much about establishing patterns of play and partnerships across the starting XI as they are putting points on the board.

After winning the first home game of the season, picking up another win would put further credit in the bank for this new-look Coventry City side. Particularly as the opposition are a Sunderland side with similar top six ambitions. This is the kind of game that will help crystallise where early expectations for this team can be set.

Expected Line-Up

The absence of Kasey Palmer last week further compounded the recent loss of Gustavo Hamer to make for a pretty stodgy creative effort at Swansea City with very little on the bench to change it. Palmer’s return to training after a personal issue has been complemented by the addition of Yasin Ayari to provide Mark Robins with genuine options in terms of his midfield selection for this game, and reduces the number of teenagers likely to be among the substitutes.

Whether either or both of Palmer or Ayari will start is Mark Robins’ biggest selection decision. In terms of new recruit, Ayari, Josh Eccles and Ben Sheaf have looked an effective central midfield pairing over the past couple of games, which will probably mean that he will have to bide his time on the bench before getting his first start for the club. As for Kasey Palmer, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was one of the team’s brightest players last week, but Palmer may still have the edge to start here as a more natural number ten, which would also have the benefit of putting Sakamoto in a position to run at tired legs later on in this game.

Elsewhere, Haji Wright and Matt Godden look to be the preferred strike pairing at this moment in time, meaning Ellis Simms’ opportunity to make an impact against his former club will have to be from the bench. With Milan van Ewijk having returned to training this week after picking up a knock against Swansea City, the rest of the team looks pretty well set.

Last Time We Met

After a post-Christmas drop-off in form, Coventry City really had to win last time out against an 8th-placed Sunderland side if they wanted to get themselves into the play-off picture at the end of the campaign. That determination to grab an important result was apparent from early on, with the Sky Blues thundering into challenges as they looked to intimidate a quick-passing, free-wheeling Sunderland side.

Coventry City’s desire was epitomised in the opening goal, with Luke McNally smashing through Jack Clarke to take the ball off him and then doing the same to win a 50/50 with Dan Neil. While Sunderland were calling for a free-kick with two players on the floor, McNally strode forward and slid a past behind a napping defence into Viktor Gyokeres, who teed up Jamie Allen for the finish. It should have been two straight from the kick-off, with Allen bullying Sunderland off the ball and passing to Gyokeres, who seared past four opposing defenders, only to send an effort narrowly wide from an acute angle.

Sunderland found their composure in the second-half and should have levelled shortly after the resumption of play, with Patrick Roberts missing a sitter and Dan Neil sending a free header from a corner over the crossbar. However, that was brief rally and the game was wrapped up soon later, with Brooke Norton-Cuffy carrying the ball up the pitch, and passing it to Gustavo Hamer who played a wonderful first-time pass to pick out Matt Godden in space, who then crossed it for a determined Viktor Gyokeres to finish. Coventry City had carried their game-plan out to perfection, with the only blot on their copybook being an excellent late consolation from Amad Diallo that came as a result of Gustavo Hamer dallying over a clearance.

The Opposition

The Manager – Tony Mowbray

After leading a young and entertaining Sunderland side unexpectedly into the play-offs last season, Tony Mowbray has a lot of credit in the bank at the Stadium of Light. Following a summer where further young promise has been added to the squad from across the globe, Mowbray’s task is to keep developing the talent that has been made available to him while playing entertaining football, which puts him pretty much in his element.

Sunderland may have started the season with two league defeats and a League Cup exit at home to League Two opposition, but they had been genuinely unlucky after dominating every contest they’ve been in. Last week’s come-from-behind win over Rotherham United demonstrated that the Black Cats will be on the right end of results more often than not over the course of the season and that their status as one of the chief play-off candidates is well-deserved.

Who To Look Out For?

With an injury list of around ten senior players heading into this game, one of the key reasons for Sunderland’s slow-ish start has been an inability to rely upon a consistent starting XI. One of the chief team selection concerns for Tony Mowbray has been who to start at centre-forward in the absence of Ross Stewart, but that may have been answered last week by an impressive scoring performance from 17 year-old midfielder, Jobe Bellingham.

The younger Bellingham brother’s combination of strength, skill and footballing intelligence worked well in an improvised centre-forward role in a home game, dovetailing impressively with Tony Mowbray favourite, Bradley Dack, in the number ten role to make Sunderland genuinely unpredictable in attack. The Black Cats are especially difficult to contain in attacking areas due to the speed and skill of Jack Clarke on the left wing, who commits defenders and opens up space for the likes of Bellingham and Dack. That would be further complemented by the adroit Patrick Roberts, but he is likely to miss this game through injury.

There is further youthful enthusiasm in central midfield, with the energetic and skilful homegrown talent of Dan Neil looking an increasingly mature presence in the middle of the park, alongside the power and drive of Pierre Ekwah. Ekwah’s form since the back of last season has been particularly important in providing physicality in a team that otherwise lacks it.

With all that youth and flair further forward, Sunderland look towards stability in defence. The combative Luke O’Nien tends to operate at centre-back these days, looking to address a lack of aggression elsewhere in the side. He plays alongside the assured and physical operator Dan Ballard whose return to full fitness is a massive upgrade for the team at the back. At full-back, Trai Hume and Dennis Cirkin can support attacks with forward runs but are primarily defensive minded options in that area of the pitch. In goal, Anthony Patterson is the most impressive young goalkeeper in the country.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This game is going to be a key early test for where this Coventry City side is at currently. Last season, the Sky Blues would have relished an encounter with a skilful but lightweight opponent likely to commit men forward and get hit on the counter-attack, whether this current set of players is capable of or even willing to do that is the key area of interest for this game.

There has been a clear move towards looking to build more patiently from the back, but that could well play into Sunderland’s hands, letting them press high, win the ball back in dangerous areas and combine quickly through their nimble attackers to score. While Coventry City could counter that by going more direct towards Haji Wright in attack, there is still the question as to whether this defence, particularly on the left side, can soak up pressure well enough to make a counter-attacking approach effective as well as if Wright can lead the team’s attacking threat in a similar manner to Viktor Gyokeres, especially when up against a dominant and mobile centre-back like Dan Ballard.

Even if Coventry City go with a more possession-orientated approach, there are likely to be stretches of this game where Sunderland will have more of the ball as they look to stretch the Sky Blues’ defence with quick combinations in the final third to open up space. This will be a big test in particular of Bobby Thomas and Joel Latibeaudiere as the wide centre-backs, as neither are protected by particularly defensively strong wing-backs and both have a tendency to commit themselves to the challenge, which could leave Kyle McFadzean scrambled if they get beaten by the likes of Bradley Dack or Jack Clarke.

Additionally, Josh Eccles and Ben Sheaf’s work-rate and physicality in central midfield will be important for Coventry City. They will have a key role to play in protecting the centre of the pitch in order to slow Sunderland’s play around the penalty area as much as possible. While they should be capable of doing just that, the danger is that they will get dragged around the pitch as a duo against five or six Sunderland attacking players if Kasey Palmer, the strikers and wing-backs don’t get involved in the defensive effort.