Sideways Sammy

Coventry City’s unbeaten run came to an end at the weekend as Norwich City outgunned the Sky Blues at Carrow Road. With fatigue starting wear into what has been a swashbuckling Coventry outfit, the notion of a midweek outing to take on Sheffield Wednesday for the fourth time in six weeks hardly feels an enticing one, with the feeling on the Wednesday end surely mutual.

On the other hand, this FA Cup replay presents a rare opportunity to progress far into the competition, with the winner set to get a home tie against non-league Maidstone United. As important as another shot at the Premier League is to Coventry City, an extended FA Cup run this year could prove to be more memorable.

Expected Line-Up

As much as Mark Robins will want to play a strong team here, there are a handful of players who it would probably be wise to hand a night off from starting duty to keep them fresh ahead of another three-game week to come. Expect at least a couple from the likes of Victor Torp, Milan van Ewijk, Callum O’Hare, Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to rested for this game, ready to be utilised from the bench only if they are needed.

Running through the potential line-up, Ben Wilson will step in to the goalkeeper position as part of his second-choice duties at the club. Unlike in the initial FA Cup tie, where Mark Robins experimented with a return to a back three, the suspension of Liam Kitching makes it difficult to do the same here, with Bobby Thomas and Luis Binks set to a form a central defensive partnership. The big calls are at full-back, where there is a good case to rest both Milan van Ewijk and Jake Bidwell with the upcoming fixture list in mind but they may both end up starting if the FA Cup is a priority for the manager.

In central midfield, it would be surprising to see Victor Torp start a second game in a row at a time where it’s clear he cannot play 90 minutes. That should provide an opportunity for Josh Eccles to build some form now that the team really could do with him stepping up as an ersatz Ben Sheaf. Eccles is likely to be partnered with Jamie Allen, but either Joel Latibeaudiere or Liam Kelly have a chance of a start here were Allen to be deployed further forward to help hand a rest to some of the team’s attacking players.

In the attacking midfield roles, there are concerns about over-working all three of Haji Wright, Callum O’Hare and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, however, resting more than one of them limits Mark Robins’ ability to put out a strong side that can win this game. Wright is probably the one who is most at risk of injury, after recently returning from one, and will likely be replaced by Kasey Palmer. Sakamoto took a few blows against Norwich City at the weekend and may be a consideration for a rest too, which could be how both Ellis Simms and Matt Godden end up starting this game – although, one of Jamie Allen and Callum O’Hare may be able to cover the right side of the attack.

Last Time We Met

In another scrappy contest on a sticky Hillsborough pitch, Coventry City looked to have done enough to advance in the FA Cup when Victor Torp curled in a screamer from well outside the penalty area on his debut to put the Sky Blues ahead just before half-time. However, the away side were unable to kill the game off and as they made changes to rest some important players, Sheffield Wednesday snaffled an equaliser, with Djeidi Gassama’s shot going through a crowd of bodies to un-sight Ben Wilson at his near-post and ensure these two sides would meet for a fourth-time in less than two months.

The Opposition

The Manager – Danny Rohl

For all the good work Danny Rohl is doing at Hillsborough to galvanise a squad that was under-equipped for Championship football into having a chance at survival, a bruising 4-0 defeat to a struggling Huddersfield Town side at the weekend underlined that there is only so much the German can do with the resources at his disposal. January had promised some necessary reinforcements to provide Rohl with more energy and quality with which to execute his high-pressing style, but the business proved to be somewhat slapdash, leaving the team with seven loan players and the sense that holes in the squad have only been plugged with Sellotape and plasters.

That defeat at Huddersfield Town also highlighted just how poor Sheffield Wednesday continue to be away from home, despite Rohl’s best efforts. At this stage in the season, it has developed into a mental block, with the Owls struggling to replicate how suffocating they can be with their relentless energy when at Hillsborough, often ending up playing rather timidly and letting opponents ease into a rhythm before they can muster a response.

Who To Look Out For?

Sheffield Wednesday will be missing a handful of their January additions, with goalkeeper James Beadle cup-tied, while winger Ian Poveda and left-back Kristian Pedersen are ineligible, having been signed after the original tie was played. That means it will be the usual suspects of wingers, Djedi Gassama and Anthony Musaba, Barry Bannan in central midfield and forward Bailey Cadamarteri and Josh Windass who look to be the Owls’ key danger-men.

With safety in danger of slipping away from Sheffield Wednesday, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they looked to play a weakened team for this game to avoid an unnecessary distraction from their chief aim this season. Fringe players, like midfielder, Momo Diaby, forwards, Mailk Wilks and Ashley Fletcher could be deployed here as something of a last opportunity to get into the manager’s thinking in the league. Meanwhile, this could be a chance for Bambo Diaby to redeem himself at centre-back after a poor display against Southampton last month saw him dropped having previously been a key player.

The other name to look out for is youngster, Pierce Charles, in goal, who made a couple of key saves in the initial tie back at Hillsborough, having been shoved into the firing line at short notice. If the youngster can put in another strong display here, then he has every chance of staking a claim for first-choice status later down the line.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

If Sheffield Wednesday end up rotating heavily, there is a good chance for Coventry City to take the game away from the Owls early and attempt to ease through the rest of the match. This looks like a good opportunity for players like Kasey Palmer, Ellis Simms and Matt Godden to produce match-winning moments that could get their league form going, which would be valuable given how much the squad may need to rotate over the next month or so to manage the fixture list.

Sheffield Wednesday tend to be much less urgent in their pressing away from home, which could help players like Luis Binks and Ben Wilson ease into the game at the back without worrying about being caught on the ball. That could also help Josh Eccles as he looks to get into form as that midfielder who receives the first pass out of defence in Ben Sheaf’s absence. However, the Sky Blues will need to be wary that Wednesday can step up the press if they sense the opportunity to do so and any loose play at the back is likely to encourage it. Concentration will be the key here.

The biggest danger Sheffield Wednesday are likely to pose is via their skilful wide-players, likely to be Anthony Musaba and Mallik Wilks, with the in-form, Djeidi Gassama, likely to come on later. Were Mark Robins to rotate at full-back, that will test Joel Latibeaudiere and Jay Dasilva, who can leave space around them defensively and look to be an area that the Owls will look to target.