Sideways Sammy

A convincing victory on the road against Millwall at the weekend ends a six-game winless streak for Coventry City, but there is still work to do in order to get away from the lower end of the division and closer to a position the club hoped to be prior to the start of the campaign. Importantly, it wasn’t a performance that had come out of the blue and the only reason not to believe that this Sky Blues side cannot now go on a positive run of form is the difficulty of some of the fixtures ahead.

With Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leeds United all to come over the next three weeks, this home game against a Plymouth Argyle side level on points with Coventry City feels especially important in reducing the sense of jeopardy with regards to the team’s league position ahead of those tricky games to come. Argyle, meanwhile, are a challenging team in their own right, capable of some excellent attacking football and have the potential to move much higher up the table than they are currently. This fixture will not exactly be the calm before the storm.

Predicted Line-Up

This looks set to be one of the easiest team selections in a while for Mark Robins after a convincing win at the weekend. The goalkeeper played well, the defence played well, the midfield played well, the attack played well, no-one got injured or suspended, there is almost no reason to change the team.

The only rationale for making any changes at all would be to keep the team fresh ahead of a congested run of fixtures over the coming weeks. Notably, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has only started a maximum of two games in a row and that was only when the games were separated by an international break. Whether that is down to fitness concerns or a quirk of the chopping and changing Mark Robins has gone through over the course of the campaign is hard to tell, but he is the likeliest to drop out of the side – with Ellis Simms coming in – if anyone does.

Last Time We Met

It was in Coventry City’s first season back in League One following a first promotion in half a century when they travelled to a struggling Plymouth Argyle side four years ago. The Sky Blues were looking to find some form following a post-January reshuffle of the promotion-winning squad and took the lead in the second-half after a rare moment of brilliance in a Coventry shirt from Conor Chaplin, in curling a brilliant free-kick from 20 yards out.

However, Ruben Lameiras went on to haunt Mark Robins for his decision to release the Portuguese attacking midfielder two years prior by turning the game on its head with two smart finishes. The first was an absurd flick in a tight area that managed to find the back of the net, the second was a well-placed effort from just inside the penalty area after Coventry City failed to clear a corner-kick.

The Opposition

The Manager – Steven Schumacher

Promoted to the job two years ago having been the assistant to current Preston North End manager, Ryan Lowe, Steven Schumacher has proven pretty comprehensively that the eye-catching, attacking football his predecessor’s Bury and Plymouth Argyle sides were associated with was largely down to his impact as a coach. Argyle narrowly missed out on the play-offs in Schumacher’s first few months in charge before a highly-impressive campaign last year where the Devon side outgunned a vastly better-resourced Ipswich Town side to the title.

Adaptation to Championship level has been a steady process this time out, Plymouth Argyle have shown they are capable of playing the rapid, attacking football that brought them success in League One, but finishing chances and leaking goals at the other end has led to inconsistent results. At home, Argyle have proven they can mix it with just about anyone in this division, on the road, Steven Schumacher has yet to find the right balance. However, his team are clearly on the right path and it is only a matter of time before they start picking up points more consistently.

Who To Look Out For?

Plymouth Argyle have a collection of exciting young attacking midfield players who can win games on their own, but the ringleader at Home Park is most certainly Morgan Whittaker. The former Derby County youngster excelled on loan over the first half of last season with his technical skill, ability to beat opponents and, most notably, his proficiency in shooting from range. After going back to Swansea City and struggling to get into the team, Whittaker was tentatively linked with a move to Coventry City but ultimately chose to return the club where his career has taken off and has subsequently proved himself to be a decisive player at Championship level.

While a lot of attention has to go towards preventing Morgan Whittaker getting into shooting positions around the penalty area, that allows Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz room to cause problems of their own. Mumba, who played most of last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle as a wing-back, has been pushed into a wide forward position after signing permanently and can be devastating with his pace and control of the ball in tight areas. Azaz, meanwhile, plays from a central midfield position and is another threat shooting from around the edge of the penalty area.

Supplemental threats for Plymouth Argyle include the creativity of Luke Cundle from central midfield, the rapid pace of Kaine Kesler-Hayden from left-back, along with midfielder, Callum Wright, and forward, Mustapha Bundu, who can impact games from the bench. Argyle are young, dynamic and exciting when they get going, which makes the role of the defensive-minded players especially important in steering the team through tougher periods in games.

Players like Jordan Houghton in defensive midfield and full-back/midfielder, Joe Edwards, do the less flashy stuff for Argyle that ties things together. Defensive duo, Julio Pleguezuelo and Lewis Gibson have proven a good mix between reliable, consistent defensive players while also being confident on the ball to get play going. Additionally, the return of Mike Cooper in goal after a long-term injury is a huge boost as he is the type of goalkeeper who can completely shut up shop when on form, providing the team the confidence to play in a more open, attacking manner, knowing they have a supreme safety net if they get caught out.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Plymouth Argyle are going to show up at the CBS Arena to have a go, buoyed by the confidence of a win at the weekend that ended a poor run of their own. Like Coventry City, they are a side that have played well for much of the season without getting the rewards they have deserved, which is going to make this a big test of the Sky Blues’ current ability and confidence levels.

Saturday’s win over Millwall could well provide the template for success in this game for Coventry. Having found success with the minority of possession and being able to counter-attack quickly through the passing of Liam Kitching, Ben Sheaf and Josh Eccles into the wide-men, Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, that could well target Plymouth Argyle’s weaknesses as much as did Millwall’s. In particular, the match-up between Joe Edwards at right-back for Plymouth and Haji Wright on the left of Coventry’s attack could be something to exploit, with the American’s pace, movement and awkward physical frame tough for Edwards, who is not a natural right-back, to deal with.

The concern from a Coventry City perspective are the individual threats of Morgan Whittaker, Bali Mumba and Finn Azaz. If the Sky Blues look to sit back in order to manufacture counter-attacking situations, that creates opportunities for Whittaker and Azaz to shoot from range, which the former is particularly effective at. If the Coventry try to play on the front foot, then Milan van Ewijk is going to have to match the pace of Mumba to prevent Argyle triumphing on the break.