Sideways Sammy

A win at the weekend against Queens Park Rangers has earned this Coventry City side some breathing room ahead of two tricky home fixtures this week. With the international break looming, providing a chance to get some key players fit again, a win from either this upcoming game against Blackburn Rovers or Saturday’s against Norwich City would put the Sky Blues back on a decent course with just under a quarter of the season gone.

The first of this week’s home games is against a Blackburn Rovers that have been free-flowing in attack, but have come a cropper of late due to having a similarly cavalier attitude to defending. The question this game will pose is whether Coventry City are good enough defensively to take advantage of their opponent’s issues at the back, and, if not, if there is the quality further forward to go toe-to-toe with one of the best attacking teams in the division.

Expected Line-Up

Coventry City’s injury situation is seemingly not as bad as it initially appeared to be, with suggestions that Ben Sheaf, Milan van Ewijk and maybe even Kasey Palmer will all be back after the international break. However, these next two games will probably come a little too soon for the trio, which is potentially a good thing, in that it will allow the Sky Blues to benefit from a settled starting XI after a period of experimentation.

One possible change for this game could be at right wing-back, where Tatsuhiro Sakamoto could be preferred over Joel Latibeaudiere to give the team some attacking thrust in a home encounter. However, Blackburn Rovers’ threat as an attacking force could well see Mark Robins swerve any temptation to play in an attack-minded manner.

There’s also a chance that Liam Kitching could take Luis Binks’ place on the left of the back three after the latter was made to look pretty stupid by Queens Park Rangers’ Sinclair Armstrong in the build up to an opposition consolation goal last time out. That would probably be a little harsh on Binks after some decent recent performances, plus it would also mean that the team would have to adapt to yet another new back-line after heavy rotation in that area in recent weeks.

Last Time We Met

It was a crucial point away at a fellow play-off contender at the back end of last season for the Sky Blues when they last took on Blackburn Rovers. In a game of few chances, Blackburn were on top for much of the first-half and deservedly took the lead via a swift passing move that ended with Joe Rankin-Costello teasing a cross in for an unmarked Sam Gallagher to head home.

Coventry City struggled to muster much of a response in the second-half but, crucially, Blackburn Rovers decided to stop attacking on a 1-0 lead. That meant that when the Sky Blues made the desperate move of allowing Ben Wilson forward from goal for a corner-kick, his awkward, bundled effort salvaged a draw that the team would not have mustered otherwise.

The point proved to be a pivotal one in the play-off race, preventing Blackburn Rovers from pulling away in the top six and setting Coventry City up to win two straightforward home games against struggling teams to get above the dotted line heading into the final week of the season.

The Opposition

The Manager – Jon Dahl Tomasson

There has been an odd, inverse relationship between results and performances for the Dane at Ewood Park. Starting his time at the club with an incredible hot-streak that nearly delivered a top six finish last year, Blackburn’s drop-off in form last season coincided with them finally deploying the kind of quick, passing style that Jon Dahl Tomasson had been looking to implement. That has crept into the new campaign, with Blackburn creating chances at a similar rate to Ipswich Town and Leicester City, but finding themselves just two points above the bottom three.

A key reason for this season’s slow start has been difficulties in the transfer market as a result of a change in law in India making it harder for the club’s owners, the Venky’s Group, to pump money into the club. Loans and free transfers have plugged a few holes, but injuries in attacking areas over the past month have robbed Jon Dahl Tomasson’s team of the cutting edge to make their approach play effective. With a young and naïve defence behind that excellent attacking unit, Rovers have struggled to keep the points ticking over of late.

Who To Look Out For?

Despite not having a fit centre-forward at the moment, Blackburn Rovers have one of the most in-form goalscorers n the Championship, in the form of attacking midfielder, Sammie Szmodics. A player who has excelled at lower levels in ghosting in from just behind the strikers to finish, at 28, Szmodics has finally translated that form to Championship level, striking six times in nine league appearances this season.

Szmodics is part of a collection of nimble, creative attacking midfielders on Blackburn’s books, with Dillan Markanday, Andrew Moran, Tyrhys Dolan and Arnor Sigurdsson of a similar mould. With those players moving about interchangeably in the final third, Rovers can be elusive to contain in attack. Backing that up is a potential midfield pairing of the enforcer, Lewis Travis, and the playmaker, Adam Wharton, although at least one of the two may be rested for this game after recent defeats.

Other key presences for Blackburn Rovers are their full-backs, who are very much part of the build-up play in either making big overlapping runs to stretch teams or tucking in to help overload opponents in the middle of the park. Joe Rankin-Costello, who can play either side or further forward, is the stand-out option for Blackburn in those positions with his work-rate and cultured ability to strike a ball, while Callum Brittain and Harry Pickering are also very talented possession-based full-backs.

With all those players buzzing around further forward, that can leave the centre-back pairing overworked, but Dominic Hyam and Hayden Carter can do a good job as the last line of defence, with James Hill and Scott Wharton options able to slot in as either replacements or take make up a back three, if needed.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This is an awkward home game for Coventry City as it’s not clear whether they should look to take the game to their opponents, or whether they should be a little more pragmatic. If the Sky Blues go out with a positive approach, that could target the deficiencies of Blackburn Rovers at the back – particularly with their first-choice goalkeeper, Aynsley Pears, out injured for this game. However, Blackburn could not only outnumber Coventry in midfield but have the better ball-players, which could make it tough for the home team to control possession and look to pinpoint the gaps in the opposing defence.

While Coventry City have also yet to prove that they are reliably capable of soaking up pressure at the back, with Blackburn Rovers missing a centre-forward to pick out in the penalty area, that might be the best way to negate the opposition’s attacking threat. Most of the Sky Blues’ goals conceded this season have come from crosses and set-pieces, which is an area that Blackburn don’t really threaten in. Ceding some possession to Blackburn would also have the benefit of opening up the gaps between the centre-backs and the rest of the team to catch them on the counter.