Sideways Sammy

For what any sane person would hope is the last time this season, the old Bristol City-Oxford United waltz comes to an end with this League Cup Second Round tie. Off the back of a point from another disjointed away performance, Coventry City will be looking to this game to help establish a rhythm that has been missing in the nascent stages of this campaign.

After being dominated on their last two trips to the Coventry Building Society Arena, Oxford United will be glad that this is likely to be their last visit for a while. An agonising last-minute defeat in the recent meeting suggests they will come here with hope, however, they are likely to ring the changes for the League Cup, with their focus being on maintaining their Championship status for a second season.

Expected Line-Up

Mark Robins made changes for the First Round of the League Cup, but not wholesale ones, so expect a mix-and-match team here. As such, anyone coming into the line-up has to view this as a genuine opportunity to stake a claim for more meaningful involvement in the league, which will hopefully underline the benefit of having a deeper squad this campaign.

As has been the theme throughout the season, the biggest decision remains what to do in central midfield after another unimposing display in the middle last time out. Victor Torp has started every game thus far this campaign but hasn’t really got going yet, it might be a chance here for Jamie Allen, or to experiment from the start with Jack Rudoni in a deeper position with Kasey Palmer further forward.

At the back, Ben Wilson will take up his cup goalkeeping duties here, knowing that Oliver Dovin looks to have the number one position locked down for the time being. In front of him, the biggest call is probably at right-back, where it might be a good idea to hand Milan van Ewijk a rest but, with Joel Latibeaudiere currently a starting centre-back, who comes in could be an interesting call. The sensible call is likely to be Latibeaudiere moving out to full-back and Bobby Thomas coming in at centre-back, with Josh Eccles coming in the only other alternative to hand Van Ewijk a rest.

The rest of the team is likely to be as expected for a League Cup tie, with all eyes on whether Ben Sheaf is fit enough to make the bench and the chance of Norman Bassette making his debut at some point.

Last Time We Met

It was almost complete domination for Coventry City at home to Oxford United ten days ago, only for sloppy defending to put the result in jeopardy. Some neat play from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Milan van Ewijk to send in a cross for Haji Wright to thump home should have set the Sky Blues on their way, but sloppy set-piece defending allowed Ciaran Brown to fire in an equaliser for Oxford soon after.

It was 2-1 to the home side at the break, with Van Ewijk rounding off a great move after Haji Wright took four defenders out of the game and played a ball across to Ellis Simms, who played it across to the Dutch right-back via a Tatsuhiro Sakamoto dummy. That should have been the cue to see the game out in style, only for more hesitant defending to allow Oxford United back into it, with Mark Harris scrambling an effort home from inches out.

As much as Coventry City huffed and puffed over the remainder of the game, Oxford’s Jamie Cumming in goal looked to have inspired the away side to a point – which occasionally threatened to get better than that – only for a poor Will Vaulks back-pass to tee Haji Wright up perfectly through on goal to round the aforementioned goalkeeper to secure a set of three points that should have been the Sky Blues’ much earlier.

The Opposition

The Manager – Des Buckingham

On one of the smallest budgets in the division, Des Buckingham has Oxford United looking pretty comfortable in the Championship thus far. A tough start to the campaign has seen the U’s pick up three points, which could easily have been at least five with better luck over their past two games. Oxford look organised and energetic, fully capable of beating anyone underestimating them as a newly-promoted side.

The only worry at the moment is the psychological toll that two recent near-misses to points – against Coventry City and then against Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, where they blew a winning position – might have on the team if it continues over the course of the season. As well-drilled as the U’s are under Des Buckingham, if the team stops believing they can pick up results, that is when they will find themselves in trouble.

Who To Look Out For?

Des Buckingham made wholesale changes in the First Round of this competition and that is likely to be the case here, with the priority for Oxford United being staying in the Championship. The U’s have added two new faces since that game against Coventry City ten days ago, with the experienced Dutchman, Hidde ter Avest, signing at right-back and winger Marselino Ferdinan, who coincidentally happens to come from Indonesia, the same country as the club’s owner, Erick Thohir.

Oxford United’s biggest threat in this game is likely to come from their wingers, who are tasked with staying high and wide to press and catch teams on the counter-attack. The U’s are likely to make use of the experienced Matt Phillips on one side, with the potentially more exciting Malcolm Ebiowei on the other. It is Ebiowei who the U’s are likely to want to pick out with space to run into, with the winger’s pace and skilful feet something that could win the game for them if he can isolate Coventry City defenders – just like he once did for Derby County against Fankaty Dabo.

Further pace is likely to come from Dane Scarlett at centre-forward, who is set to get his first start for the club here after signing on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The young striker has starred at youth-level for his parent club but has yet to get going in senior football after fairly underwhelming loans at Portsmouth and Ipswich Town over the past two seasons. Alternatively, Oxford could deploy attacking midfielder, Ruben Rodrigues, further forward to link play and get those attacking wingers into dangerous areas.

At the back, the likely introduction of Josh McEachran will make the U’s less forceful defensively with the midfielder a slight ball-player who will be deployed here to further serve those wide players. Matt Ingram as second-choice in goal is a very good option for a newly-promoted team to have, capable of making the kind of big saves that can see a counter-attacking team succeed with their backs to the wall.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

It will be interesting to see just how much the previous league game affects this tie, with the amount of changes reducing the scope for learning. For Oxford United, they will be looking to replicate their second-half performance in that match, where they reduced the spaces out wide for Coventry City to take advantage of, although, that comes at the cost of getting their wingers into the game. For Coventry City, it’s about staying on the front foot while maintaining defensive concentration.

The defence and midfield unit for Coventry City has an important role to play here in asserting the team on the game. Losing Oliver Dovin’s ability to play accurate short passes around an opposing press is a concern, especially when considering Bobby Thomas and his propensity for sloppiness on the ball from centre-back in front of him and the possibility that Jamie Allen may start in central midfield and have to get involved in that build-up play too. On the other hand, Liam Kitching and Jay Dasilva’s ability to carry the ball out of defence are potential sources of strength for the Sky Blues here.

If Oxford United are concerned with shutting off the wide threat from a changed Coventry City side here, that should then present opportunities through the middle. After a goal at the weekend, this might be a chance for Kasey Palmer to strengthen his case for starting opportunities in the league. In addition, the potential of having Jack Rudoni operating from deep and driving forward with the ball could be where space opens up for the Sky Blues. Whether Brandon Thomas-Asante and his raw pace is the right option for this kind of test at home to a deep-sitting opponent is probably the biggest concern in terms of converting possession into goals here.