Sideways Sammy

A convincing win over a second-string Sheffield Wednesday side in the FA Cup in mid-week has provided this Coventry City with exactly what they needed after a run of patchy performances. Just how valuable that confidence boost was versus the risk of fatigue as a busy February gets into full swing will become apparent over the next week, starting with this home game against a Millwall side in indifferent form.

Getting three points on the board here would keep the top six bid ticking along nicely ahead of back-to-back away games over the following week. Millwall, having narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, are not a side who should be underestimated, but getting into the habit of winning home games over the remainder of the campaign is what will set Coventry City up for success in their end of season goal.

Expected Line-Up

While it wasn’t a strong Sheffield Wednesday side that Coventry City dispatched so comfortably on Tuesday night, some of the performances on the pitch may well have changed Mark Robins’ sense of what his strongest XI is. Specifically, Haji Wright scoring. and having fair few other chances to, from the centre-forward position and Jay Dasilva’s positivity from left-back could well be experiments that end up being promoted into permanent changes to the starting line-up for this game.

Haji Wright finding form at centre-forward could well be answer to the issue Coventry City have had in that position in recent months, where both Matt Godden and Ellis Simms have failed to get going. The American scoring from a header inside the penalty area demonstrated that he can provide that focal point in the box the team has been missing at times. However, the issue is that moving Wright permanently from the left wing means that the team is left with Kasey Palmer as the only other player to fill that spot.

Based on current form and fitness, that is not a problem. Kasey Palmer seems to be building momentum and is developing a scintillating understanding with Callum O’Hare. The idea of keeping those two on the pitch, plus Haji Wright, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Milan van Ewijk, seems an exciting one. The issue is what happens if Palmer, O’Hare or Wright get injured. With that not a current concern, there seems no reason not to build on Tuesday’s positive showing.

The other key positive performer from the FA Cup match, Jay Dasilva, has done all he could to earn a starting spot here. The left-back’s pace and skill on the ball could be just what this team needs to break Millwall down at home, with Jake Bidwell’s attacking contributions having been something of a concern in recent games. However, whether one good showing from Dasilva is enough to change the back-line remains to be seen.

There are possible fitness concerns surrounding Victor Torp, who came the closest he has since joining to completing 90 minutes on Tuesday night, and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, who has been in the wars over the past few games, with limited options to replace them. That is especially so with Jamie Allen likely out for this game after a cheap shot from Sheffield Wednesday’s Di’Shon Bernard in the final minutes of the cup tie.

Finally, Liam Kitching will serve the remainder of his two-game ban for picking up a second red card of the campaign for this match, with Luis Binks set to retain his place in the side, possibly with a view to a longer stay in the team.

Last Time We Met

It was the win that kicked Coventry City’s winter resurgence off. The Sky Blues looked dangerous pretty much every time they attacked at The Den, with Haji Wright getting on the end of chance after chance without scoring. Fortunately, the American’s attacking colleagues were there to pick up the pieces, with Matt Godden handing the away side a half-time lead when he nodded in a rebound after Wright had forced a save from Bartosz Bialkowski in the Millwall goal.

Coventry City were then able to kill the game off on the counter in the second-half against a Millwall side that were unable to pose much of a threat with the possession they had. First, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto profited from a rebounded Jamie Allen shot to score his first Sky Blues goal. After Haji Wright had fluffed another good chance later on, Ben Sheaf was on hand to score from the resulting corner to secure a first win for Coventry in eight games and set up a lengthy unbeaten run to follow.

The Opposition

The Manager – Joe Edwards

That game at The Den back in November was Edwards’ second game in football management and the former Chelsea and England youth team coach has struggled to find consistent form since then. Joe Edwards has wanted Millwall to play a more progressive, passing game than they had been for so many years under Gary Rowett but has had to be more pragmatic because he is still working with a squad built to execute Rowett’s marginal, percentages football as efficiently as possible.

A key theme of Joe Edwards’ reign thus far has been that the more of the ball his team has had, the less likely they have been to win. Edwards just hasn’t had the time to make changes to the playing style either through coaching or new recruits and it now looks to be time to dig out the five or so wins the team needs to ensure safety ahead of a summer re-set. Millwall’s identity crisis under Edwards has been a bigger issue at home than on the road, where they can settle into the underdogs tag and look to nick goals to keep the points ticking over.

Who To Look Out For?

If Millwall are to ease away from danger this season, star forward, Zian Flemming’s, ability to produce something out of nothing feels like the kind of thing that will be enough for them to do so. The tall and well-built attacking midfielder’s physique allowed him to ease into Championship football last year, allowing his technical ability – specifically, the venom he generates in his shooting – to stand out. Flemming hasn’t quite found the same form this season, but he is someone who should be left with as little space as possible around the penalty area.

Millwall then have a handful of decent Championship quality strikers who can chip in with goals, with Kevin Nisbet, Tom Bradshaw and the recent addition of Michael Obafemi being the kind of forwards who can nick games away from opponents at this level if not paid attention to. Supporting the team’s attacking efforts is the industry of players like Duncan Watmore, George Honeyman, Casper de Norre and George Saville who will run hard yards for the team for fun.

The other key danger-man for Millwall is Brooke Norton-Cuffy from wing-back. The former Coventry City loanee can be inconsistent with his performance levels but his ability to produce those lung-busting forays from deep can really open play up for the Lions, turning attack into defence quickly. With big, physical centre-backs in Wes Harding, Jake Cooper and Murray Wallace, along with another giant in goal, in Matija Sarkic, Millwall are well set-up to soak pressure up from deep before bursting on opponents with Norton-Cuffy leading the charge.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

With results the priority for Millwall right now, it is unlikely that they will look to control possession and leave space on the counter as they did at The Den back in November. The Lions will primarily look to frustrate Coventry City via their defensive physicality, hoping to slow the Sky Blues’ play down and block out the penalty area. However, Coventry will have to be wary that Millwall have some energetic forward and midfield players who can cause problems via pressing and they may look to disrupt the home side’s build-up play in a similar manner to how Bristol City did in the last home league game.

Getting Kasey Palmer and Callum O’Hare into the game in positions around the Millwall goal looks to be a chief concern here. The duo have the ability to produce spectacular moments with limited space, but they will have to be precise to navigate a physical Lions phalanx around their penalty area. Haji Wright will have an important role to play as that outlet up front to open up space for the other attacking players, which will test his physicality and touch, which he can struggle with.