Sideways Sammy

The last week had meant to be the launchpad for Coventry City’s season to get going, instead, it has stalled to a splutter. The Sky Blues head into this Monday night clash with semi-local rivals, West Bromwich Albion, in need of a win to calm a growing ill-mood around the club. While the team is only eight points off the play-offs with a game in hand, sitting in 20th is an uncomfortable position to be in and will only become more so the longer it lasts.

West Bromwich Albion will be a tough opponent to attempt to kick-start the season against. The Baggies could move as high as fifth place with a win here and are incredibly tough to break down while possessing match-winning quality at the other end of the pitch. Any sloppiness from Coventry City is likely to be punished in this game, at a time where it feels like it won’t take a lot for the home crowd to make their feelings known about this team.

Expected Line-Up

Coming off back-to-back defeats, it feels like there are very few in this Coventry City side right now who can be certain of a starting place heading into this game. While consistency of selection could be important in manufacturing the cohesion that this team has been lacking for much of this season, that can’t come at the cost of making players feel as if they need to justify their inclusion in the side.

The biggest argument for sticking with the incumbents and hoping things will gel is probably in defence, where Mark Robins has rotated for much of the campaign to little effect. However, with little sign of who genuinely is the manager’s preferred three at centre-back, it is anyone’s guess who might eventually be given a run together to forge some defensive stability. Right now, not even Kyle McFadzean can be sure of a continued starting place.

This could be the moment where Mark Robins moves away from a 3-4-1-2 starting formation for the first time since the start of pre-season. Various combinations of Matt Godden, Ellis Simms and Haji Wright haven’t really worked as a strike partnership and there isn’t anyone, in the absence of Kasey Palmer and a fully match-fit Callum O’Hare, who looks capable of acting as the number ten to stitch things together. Moving to a 3-4-2-1 could help both provide some of the missing control in midfield this team has lacked and stiffen things up defensively.

As to who could make up the two and the one in that formation, it feels like a lot depends on the fitness of Jamie Allen, who has missed the last two games with injury. If Allen is available, he could play an important role of dropping into the deeper midfield positions to tighten up the team’s shape without the ball while also being able to make runs into the box to support the attack when possession is gained. That could also free up Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to drift into advanced wide areas to isolate opposing defenders in one-against-one contests. As for who starts up front, Matt Godden still looks to be Mark Robins’ number one choice as striker, although there are suggestions that Haji Wright will get the nod for this game.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City went down in pretty meek fashion at The Hawthorns back in February, as part of a defeat that seemed to signal that this team had little left to play for the remainder of the campaign. West Bromwich Albion mustered the opening goal from a long throw – which was part of a familiar run of fragility from set-pieces for the Sky Blues – with Grady Diangana prodding home, and the away side struggled to conjure much of a response against a resolute Baggies outfit.

The Opposition

The Manager – Carlos Corberan

The Baggies may be nearing a state of financial meltdown off-the-pitch, but with Carlos Corberan in charge, they look in good hands to stay in a more than competitive state on it. After a summer in which players left the club with little incoming business to replace them, Corberan has steadily got on with the job in hand, maintaining the team’s tight defensive organisation that nearly turned a relegation battle into a play-off place last season with just enough firepower at the other end to keep West Bromwich Albion in the top six race this time out.

The Spaniard had once been seen as an idealistic Marcelo Bielsa disciple in his early managerial days, but has found success at Championship level with both Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion by focusing on defence-first football. His teams can be tough to watch at times as they maintain a keen focus on their defensive shape, often sacrificing possession in order to stay tight, but they are proven to be difficult to break down and an absolute nightmare for opponents to attempt to turn around losing positions against.

Who To Look Out For?

It is West Bromwich Albion’s defensive organisation that is their key strength, but that is aided by having reliable, experienced performers to martial their stability at the back. Turkish defensive midfielder, Okay Yokuslu, plays an important role in patrolling the defence, with the physical presence of Cedric Kipre at centre-back and the solidity of Darnell Furlong at right-back other key presences. Additionally, academy-produced goalkeeper, Alex Palmer, is capable of making some excellent saves once that defensive phalanx is breached and is also a tall presence who can command his penalty area.

Being able to stay organised defensively and soak up opposition pressure means only a few things have to go right for West Bromwich Albion at the other end of the pitch. John Swift, who had been tentatively linked with a deadline day move to Coventry City earlier this season, has been the star making things happen for the Baggies for much of this campaign but is likely to miss this game. However, in Grady Diangana, Matt Phillips and, especially, Jed Wallace, West Brom have individuals that can turn defence into attack quickly and punish any lose opposing play in their defensive third.

In addition, the quick and hard-working striker, Brandon Thomas-Asante, provides some extra chaos in the final third for West Bromwich Albion as their only current fit, senior striker. On his day, Thomas-Asante is another individual match-winner and even though he can be inconsistent, he can stretch opposing defences and open up space for the other, more reliable, attacking players in this Baggies outfit.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This is going to be a test of Coventry City’s focus as much as it is going to be one of their quality against a play-off chasing West Bromwich Albion side. The away side have a clear identity, especially on the road, of focusing primarily on staying in their defensive shape, confident in their belief in their attacking players to make even just one or two key moments at the other end of the pitch count. They may not look to dominate the Sky Blues but they can suck the life out of the game quite easily, especially if they take an early lead.

Adding to the current Coventry City concern from set-pieces this season is the threat that West Bromwich Albion possess from Darnell Furlong’s long throws. Not only did the last game between these two sides demonstrate how effective West Brom’s right-back’s throws can be, but the Sky Blues’ have seen in their past two outings how much a set-piece opening goal can change the entire complexion of a game. If Mark Robins and the coaching staff haven’t been working on defending set-pieces this week, it would be a dereliction of duty.

Where Coventry City can look to hurt West Bromwich Albion will be in targeting their opponent’s lack of pace at the back. That can be hard to pin-point due to their ferocious defensive organisation and the work that the midfield does in providing further protection, however, isolating veterans such as Kyle Bartley and Erik Pieters in one-against-one foot-races against the likes of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Milan van Ewijk has to be one of the key aims of the Sky Blues’ tactical set-up in this game. If Coventry can get their noses in front, that would force West Brom to play in a manner they are uncomfortable with, attempting to create through spells of possession and leaving their slow defence up the pitch to be left exposed to pace.