Sideways Sammy

Back-to-back wins have come at a crucial time for Coventry City, pushing them away from danger ahead of a run of four games where they will play three of the top four. Having played relatively well of late, there are reasons to believe that the Sky Blues have the ability to claim results out of these tough upcoming games but some of the awkward moments in Tuesday night’s win over Plymouth Argyle highlighted that this team is still learning a new system and now face opponents with the ability to punish lapses that result from a lack of understanding.

This trip to a second-placed Ipswich Town side that have won all but one of their home games this season look set to be the toughest that Coventry City will face in this run, and probably for the rest of the season. The Tractor Boys have averaged over three goals a game at Portman Road, which is sure to test the Sky Blues’ newfound defensive resolve. Claiming any kind of positive result in this game would force the entire league to notice Coventry’s recent resurgence.

Expected Line-Up

It should be as easy a decision for Mark Robins as naming the exact same side that beat Millwall and Plymouth Argyle over the past two games, but there were signs of fatigue in a couple of players throughout Tuesday night’s match and there are likely to be at least one or two changes to keep things fresh.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto notably faded during the second-half against Plymouth, having been on the end of a meaty challenge earlier in the match. In the absence of a like-for-like replacement for the winger on the right of Coventry City’s front three, it’s a call between Ellis Simms and Callum O’Hare. Deploying Simms out wide away from home against the division’s most creative left-back, Leif Davis, would be a bold call, with O’Hare likely to be able to do a better job of sticking to his defensive duties out wide.

Simms may also be needed at centre-forward, after a quiet night from Matt Godden in midweek. Simms showed later on against Plymouth Argyle that his physical presence and pace can be effective, especially with Haji Wright alongside him, when playing on the break, which is likely to be the Sky Blues’ game-plan here. However, Mark Robins may feel like Wright’s presence on the left may be all the team needs to get up the pitch, leaving Godden in the side as someone in the penalty area to nick a goal from any scraps left by Wright.

Elsewhere, Milan van Ewijk and Jamie Allen are other possible candidates for rotation given that they are not long back from injury. Although, that could well be a little too much change to what has proven a winning formula.

Last Time We Met

Little did anyone of a Sky Blue persuasion know it at the time, but Coventry City’s last meeting with Ipswich Town proved to be a title-winning one. It was the final match before League One locked down for Covid, with the Sky Blues having just pulled into first-place in the table and Ipswich under an indifferent run under Paul Lambert. So far was the thought that Coronavirus was going to cause any noticeable change to life that Matt Godden’s celebration for his winning goal was marked with an ironic elbow touch to make light of recent public health warnings.

The Opposition

The Manager – Kieran McKenna

A member of the Manchester United coaching staff under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Kieran McKenna has proven to be one of the smartest young managers in the country since taking over Ipswich Town around two years ago. While promotion from League One was aided by having by far the highest budget in the division, it was apparent that McKenna’s coaching elevated his team to higher levels than the sum of their constituent parts. A dominant start to life in the Championship, with little by way of summer reinforcements, has backed up the assertion that Ipswich have on their hands a special managerial talent.

Kieran McKenna has the Tractor Boys playing dominant, fast-paced, attacking football, while also maintaining a good balance defensively. It’s a classic case of everyone in the team knowing exactly where they need to be both in and out of possession leading to clear patterns of play – generally involving combinations out wide to get Leif Davis and Wes Burns into crossing positions for the forward players to attack – that opponents find hard to stop due to the sheer speed and precision it is executed at. Ipswich are particularly dominant at home under Kieran McKenna, generally blowing past teams early on before they have a chance to figure out how to get themselves into the game.

Who To Look Out For?

The system really is the star for an Ipswich Town side that has basically been untouched from the one that won automatic promotion from League One last year. The two key players that really make Ipswich’s system tick, however, are the aforementioned Leif Davis from left-back and Wes Burns from either right wing or right-back. Wes Burns’ direct running down the right side of the pitch makes him a tireless attacking force for Ipswich, constantly stretching opponents to open up space in attack. Davis, meanwhile, is all about his delivery from crosses – whether in open play or set-pieces – having recorded 22 assists in the 60 league appearances he has made for the club.

With such a big threat from either flank, that allows Ipswich Town’s front four to constantly get into shooting positions and pummel the opposing goalkeeper. The lanky George Hirst tends to be the target in the box for Burns and Davis’ crosses, from where he can directly threaten the goal but more often ends up laying the ball into space for Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead to attack. When opposing defences get tired, Ipswich can introduce the nimble-footed duo of Marcus Harness and Omari Hutchinson to wreak havoc around the penalty area.

Providing the platform for that attack to flourish is the midfield duo of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo. Both are experienced pros who have been solid Championship players who can mix passing with enforcing themselves in the tackle, under Kieran McKenna, they have become genuinely dominant second-tier players who balance out the team really nicely.

Backing that up are Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess in central defence who are two, tall ball-playing defenders, with ex-Manchester United youngster, Axel Tuanzebe, available to provide some pace depending on whether the manager feels it’s necessary. Vaclav Hladky in goal has proven a revelation this season after being firmly second-choice for much of his time at Ipswich Town, coming into the side to replace the excellent Christian Walton after he picked up an injury to enter the season with, Hladky’s shot-stopping and ability on the ball has made him undroppable.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

If Coventry City are to have a hope of getting something from this game, the team’s defending in wide areas is going to be absolutely crucial. While Ipswich Town are a side that have a lot of strings to their bow, shutting down Leif Davis and Wes Burns will force them into figuring out different attacking strategies to what they are most accustomed to. Since moving to a 4-3-3 system, Coventry have tended to leave the wide forwards high up the pitch out of possession and focused on the midfielders protecting the full-backs, the worry with repeating that here is that it could leave the Sky Blues’ midfield completely overworked, allowing Ipswich to switch the play quickly to get Davis and Burns into crossing positions.

If Coventry City are unable to prevent crosses, defending them well will be the next priority. The form of Brad Collins in goal, especially in coming off his line to command his penalty area, is helpful, along with Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching in central defence, but the accuracy of Ipswich’s delivery out wide and the physical presence of George Hirst will be a test of their competence of a completely different order to what they have faced over the past three games. If too much attention goes into marking Hirst, then that leaves space for Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead to get into dangerous areas around the penalty area.

Where the Sky Blues will look to find joy in this match is likely to be on the counter, with Haji Wright’s ability to get into dangerous areas set to be key for the away side’s attacking threat. With Ipswich Town tending to utilise Harry Clarke as somewhere between a right-back and centre-back, the American will have work to do to get into space but the hope is that his pace can get Ipswich’s defence on the turn, which is their biggest area of weakness. There may be more space on the other side with Leif Davis rampaging forward from left-back, but whether Coventry City can exploit that is likely dependent on how long they can get Tatushiro Sakamoto onto the pitch for.