Sideways Sammy

Tuesday night’s performance against Ipswich Town was more competitive and energetic than most were expecting but another defeat adds to the unpleasant sensation of the season fizzling out. While it may not impact next year whether this team finishes in 8th or 12th place, ending the league campaign on a run of one win in eight would leave a bitter taste in the mouth with a long time over the summer to stew over it.

The opposition for Coventry City in this final game of the season is a Queens Park Rangers side that have improved over the second half of the campaign and are in a good mood after securing safety last week with a thumping win over Leeds United. With the pressure off, they will be feeling confident that they can claim three points from a higher-placed team as they look to lay down a marker for what they can achieve next year.

Expected Line-Up

Mark Robins chose not to rest key players on Tuesday night, including waiting until deep into the second-half to make any substitutions. Given the amount of football this team has played over the past few weeks, that was a surprising call. The question heading into this game is whether the manager needs to freshen things up given that there will be a three-month break from competitive action after the final whistle.

The chief selection concern heading into this match is what to do now that there is likely just one fit centre-back, Bobby Thomas, available following Joel Latibeaudiere coming off injured on Tuesday night. Unless Luis Binks makes a sudden return from the knock he picked up last week, Jake Bidwell is set to be deployed at left centre-back. To help cover for Bidwell’s lack of experience playing in that role, a back three might be a consideration – with Ben Sheaf the prime candidate to drop into the back-line – which may also account for the team’s lack of wide options, but it seems unlikely.

The other key calls look to be whether to hand both Liam Kelly and Callum O’Hare starts on what look set to be their respective final appearances for the club. Kelly has played a lot of football over the past week or so, but that could set him up for a nice send-off around the hour mark. O’Hare, meanwhile, seems the perfect option to bring into the starting XI to freshen things up, either in place of Kasey Palmer or to take Josh Eccles’ place out wide.

On the subject of potential final outings for the club, it appears that Matt Godden could well be in that category, despite having a year left to run on his contract. With Mark Robins electing to bring the youngster, Aidan Dausch, on late on Tuesday with the team chasing a goal, Godden may do well to get on the pitch in this game, which would be a shame given the service he’s provided the club.

Last Time We Met

With both teams having started the campaign slowly, the meeting back in September went a long way towards shaping both Coventry City and Queens Park Rangers’ season. In an incident free first-half, Ellis Simms provided what proved to be a somewhat premature demonstration of what he could do for the club in handing the team the lead with a poacher’s effort from a set-piece soon after the half-time break.

Josh Eccles made it two when he fired home from the edge of the area after Matt Godden’s effort from a free-flowing move was blocked by Joel Latibeaudiere into the midfielder’s path. Perhaps the key moment of the game came soon after, with Sinclair Armstrong felled by Ben Wilson outside the penalty area when clean through on goal and the referee somehow electing not to send the Coventry City goalkeeper off. Jamie Allen then teed up Ellis Simms to make it three, rendering a late Kenneth Paal goal a consolation effort for QPR.

The Opposition

The Manager – Marti Cifuentes

The Spaniard has proved something of a miracle worker for a Queens Park Rangers outfit that looked to be spiralling towards relegation earlier in the campaign thanks to the combination of severe budget cuts and having Gareth Ainsworth as manager. Having made a name for himself in Scandinavian football, Marti Cifuentes has proven his coaching ability further during his seven months at QPR, instilling both organisation and getting a tune out of the team’s star creative players.

It is that balance that has been so impressive about Marti Cifuentes’ Queens Park Rangers side. The team can press opponents and look to play passing football when they need to, but they can also sit in, defend and hit on the counter, as evidenced by their 4-0 win over Leeds United last week. With next season in mind, QPR could well be one of the dark horses, provided they are able to invest in the squad after a period of looking to trim their budget.

Who To Look Out For?

Chris Willock and Ilias Chair remain the star turns in this Queens Park Rangers side in those attacking midfield positions. The diminutive Chair is someone who can both orchestrate attacking moves with his passing and movement but has the ability to produce the spectacular in shooting from range. Willock has been revitalised under Marti Cifuentes after an indifferent, and injury-hit, past year or so, it is the attacking midfielder’s dribbling ability in tight areas that most stands out, making him someone really hard to get the ball off, while possessing an eye for goal on top of that.

The addition of the Danish winger, Lucas Andersen, since Marti Cifuentes’ arrival has provided another creative contributor to Queens Park Rangers’ attacking unit. Andersen is another direct ball-carrier who makes QPR threatening on the break, who is able to pick his final ball well to contribute assists. Rounding things off is the physical presence of Lyndon Dykes in the final third, a bustling, battering ram of a centre-forward who really should score more goals than he manages, in a similar category is young centre-forward, Sinclair Armstrong, whose physicality and mobility off the bench can really test tired defences, even if his finishing ability isn’t quite there.

With attacking players who can let loose, Queens Park Rangers are largely concerned with solidity further back. Starting with a midfield duo of Jack Colback and Sam Field who can put their boots in to slow down opposing attacks, with Isaac Hayden another defensive midfielder to provide energy later on from the bench. In defence, centre-back Jimmy Dunne has been deployed at right-back to good effect to further lock down the defensive area of the pitch, with Steve Cook leading the back-line in the middle and Jake Clarke-Salter enjoying a run of fitness and form at left centre-back.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Queens Park Rangers have everything about them to be able to end Coventry City’s season on a bum note. Capable of sitting in and frustrating, but also stepping up to harry when they spot the opportunity to, and with directness and quality in the final third, they could really prey on the Sky Blues’ tired legs. Energy levels are going to be important for Coventry, this is going to be a testing final encounter of the campaign.

One of the key specific concerns is the physical presence of Lyndon Dykes in the penalty area against Jake Bidwell as a make-shift centre-back. While it is likely that Bobby Thomas will take up much of the marking duties against Dykes, there are likely to be situations where the Scotland international will look to pull over to Bidwell’s side to attack crosses or receive the ball.

The other defensive concern for Coventry City is how they look to keep Queens Park Rangers’ three attacking midfielders quiet. It has been apparent throughout this season that Liam Kelly is short of the mobility to fully protect that area of the pitch on his own, which he has been left to do too often in recent games with his partner tending to be handed free rein to push forward. Given the concerns on the left side of the defence, between Jake Bidwell at centre-back and Jay Dasilva at left-back, it would help if Ben Sheaf or Josh Eccles can drop in to help cover that area of the pitch.

The main area of opportunity will come from drawing Queens Park Rangers onto the Sky Blues to an extent to try and take advantage of the lack of pace down the right side of their defence. This Coventry City side is at their best when breaking quickly into space, with Callum O’Hare or Kasey Palmer threading through balls for Haji Wright and Ellis Simms to latch onto. That will be possible here, but only if the team can avoid the slow, passive possession spells they had too much of on Tuesday night.