Sideways Sammy

An encouraging performance at home to Norwich City last time out and the chance to get some players back fit over the international break could well provide the impetus that this Coventry City side needs to put together a consistent run of performances and results. With two away games to kick off this latest leg of the season, taking that first step towards building momentum will not be easy but a couple of positive results will set the team up nicely for the month ahead.

Starting with a trip to a Bristol City side in, more or less, the same position as Coventry City will be a useful progress marker for this team. The opposition are a side that has lost some key players since the turn of the year and been inconsistent as a result, yet have an eye on challenging for the top six once things drop in place for them. There really isn’t much difference between the Robins and the Sky Blues, which makes it such a handy test at this stage of the campaign.

Expected Line-Up

With Milan van Ewijk having returned from the bench prior to the international break, it is expected that Ben Sheaf will be another recent injury absentee available for this game. There’s no news on whether Liam Kelly or Kasey Palmer are back from their own injury blows, but there are suggestions that Callum O’Hare is of sufficient fitness to make it onto the bench, even if he may be some way away from being able to play any kind of significant minutes.

Having all of those aforementioned players back will significantly boost the quality available to Mark Robins and his ability to build towards an ideal starting line-up, while having options to change things up both from the bench and between games. However, this game might be a little too soon for any of those players, other than Milan van Ewijk, to start, and it may be a while before the benefit of the manager having a larger hand to play to be felt.

There are two key selection conundrums for this game, the first is the impact of starting Milan van Ewijk at right wing-back meaning that Tatsuhiro Sakamoto will either lose his place or have to be shuffled into another position. That could be at left wing-back, but it seems too great a risk in a reasonably tough away game and with Jay Dasilva having started every game this season in that position. Sakamoto could start in attacking midfield, but that takes him away from the wide areas where his dribbling ability looks to be most dangerous in.

That also leads onto the other selection conundrum, which is in midfield. The trio of Josh Eccles, Jamie Allen and Yasin Ayari have been playing there by default over the past couple of games, while they have put in serviceable performances, Mark Robins may want to try something different. That could involve the aforementioned Tatsuhiro Sakamoto moving into a central role, probably at the cost of Yasin Ayari, but could even see Joel Latibeaudiere given a start in a midfield position he was tried out in late on against Norwich City, the question is whether he really is needed there given that Ben Sheaf and Liam Kelly will soon be available to bolster the team’s central options.

The only other team selection call to watch out for looks to be in central defence, where it looks to be a toss up between Liam Kitching and Luis Binks for that left-sided role in the back three, but the former could well have the edge right now after making his first start last time out.

Last Time We Met

It was New Year’s Day, everyone was a bit tired, Coventry City started brightly against Bristol City, took the lead, stopped attacking, Bristol City equalised, that was that.

The Opposition

The Manager – Nigel Pearson

Now in his third full season at Bristol City, back-to-back bottom-half finishes and a similar position currently may not look like success for Nigel Pearson at Ashton Gate, but he has largely performed the brief that he had been tasked with after arriving at the club in 2021. The club had been overspending on transfer fees and wages yet were spiralling towards relegation to League One, Pearson has offloaded a lot of deadwood, developed young players, sold on them for profit and kept results steady in the process of doing so.

Having sold academy graduates, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott, since the turn of the year for a similar level of combined fee as Coventry City received for Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, that Nigel Pearson hasn’t been handed the same kind of expenditure to put back in the squad as Mark Robins has highlights that Bristol City still appear to be in something of a holding cycle as a football club. The Robins are well-organised and competitive under Pearson, occasionally capable of big performances but a lack of strength in depth or stand-out quality makes their current mid-table position a fair representation of where they stand as both a football team and a football club.

Who To Look Out For?

Bristol City’s academy, having already produced Premier League players, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott, remains a key source of quality to the team at a time where investment on external talent has been relatively circumspect. It is a pair of strikers, Sam Bell and Tommy Conway, who are the next off the production line, Bell a pure goal-poacher who has finally found his feet at this level having once been tested as a wide-player, and even a wing-back, Conway is more of a presence, particularly in terms of his pressing, but also has sharp instincts in the penalty area.

That attacking unit is further supported by more senior players who can chip in with goals, from Nahki Wells, to Harry Cornick, Andi Weimann, Anis Mehmeti and Mark Sykes, Bristol City have a fair number of options in attack, even if it is currently Bell and Conway that look the closest to being able to take charge and lead the team for threat in the final third.

The midfield trio of Matty James, Jason Knight (who looks set to miss this game) and Joe Williams is an understated area of strength for Bristol City. All three are incredibly hard-working players who can outmuscle and out-run opponents in the middle of the park, but they also have the quality about them to make moments on the ball count and even dictate games when at their best. There is further work-rate and quality from full-backs, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Cameron Pring, to make Bristol City a really diligent and occasionally excellent team-unit.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

The challenge of playing this Bristol City side at Ashton Gate is earning time on the ball against a team that is so hard-working in the centre of the park and up front. It is going to be a big test in particular for whoever starts in midfield for Coventry City – likely, Josh Eccles, Jamie Allen and Yasin Ayari – to impose themselves on the game and also make good use of possession. That could well see the Robins take charge of this game and really pin the Sky Blues back if they are not up for the battle.

If Bristol City end up taking control of the midfield, that will lay down the gauntlet to Coventry City in their desire to play out from the back – which has waned over the past month. It would be foolish to invite pressure by doing so, however, the question is whether the team has the presence and pace further forward to make a more direct, counter-attacking approach effective. Ellis Simms and Matt Godden are going to have to put big shifts in to give the Sky Blues a foothold in this game, as much as the midfield will.