Sideways Sammy

An away trip to Leeds United was always going to be a difficult task but to put up so little fight raises some serious questions about where this Coventry City side is currently heading. It’s not just that confidence looks to be low but there is such little quality, organisation or identity to the past couple of performances that is the concern. It is hard to see what this Sky Blues team is trying to achieve right now, which is an indictment upon all involved.

Picking up a second league win as soon as possible and by any means necessary is now the only priority. Two home games in five days theoretically provides the opportunity to build some momentum, but both Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday are difficult opponents. Starting with this game with a Blackburn side that have confounded pre-season expectations of a relegation battle to sit third in the division and look well-set to frustrate and battle for the points at the CBS Arena.

Expected Line-Up

A team selection against Leeds United, which featured seven changes, including the goalkeeper, felt like Mark Robins had hit the panic button a little too early, which puts him in a difficult position after it didn’t work out. The continued chopping and changing has done little to generate momentum for Coventry City, it is now a choice between keeping the wheel spinning or sticking with something that didn’t work in an attempt to foment stability.

The defining choice for Mark Robins for this game looks set to be in goal, where Ben Wilson failed to cover himself in glory against Leeds United, letting in two goals from shots that were almost directly at his body. The problem with bringing Oliver Dovin back in so quickly is not only is it an admission that the manager got it wrong but that it risks further unsettling what is an already unsettled and leaky back-line. On balance, however, it is probably better to admit to a mistake than persist with it.

There look to be few certainties about the rest of the team selection, with only Josh Eccles, Milan van Ewijk and Jack Rudoni looking to be guaranteed starters – with Rudoni a doubt after limping off at the end of the Leeds United game. Now looks to be the time to pick a preferred back-line and stick with it come what may. Elsewhere, perhaps now is the juncture at which Mark Robins tries something other than a 4-2-3-1 shape that hasn’t really worked this season.

This is going to be a hard team selection to predict. Mark Robins may want to play his most experienced possible defence, with Jake Bidwell coming in at left wing-back and sticking with Liam Kitching and Bobby Thomas as the centre-back pairing. Ben Sheaf doesn’t look to be fit enough to start two games in a row, making Josh Eccles and Victor Torp the default midfield two. Further forward, getting Tatsuhiro Sakamoto back in the starting line-up feels a useful card for the manager to play, while Norman Bassette’s work-rate up top may be just what this team needs right now to lift both itself and the fans.

Last Time We Met

It was back in April with Blackburn Rovers desperate for points to stay in the division and Coventry City all but mathematically out of the play-off race and looking utterly cooked post the FA Cup semi-final, that the Sky Blues travelled to Ewood Park. Blackburn’s greater desire for the win was apparent throughout the 90 minutes against a Coventry side that offered very little threat.

It was only thanks to an excellent display in goal from Brad Collins and a commanding performance at centre-back from Bobby Thomas, plus some sloppy Blackburn finishing, that Coventry City kept what was their most recent clean sheet in the league. Something similar in this upcoming game would almost be welcome right now.

The Opposition

The Manager – John Eustace

Having looked to have been handed a hospital pass when he arrived as a relegation fire-fighter at Blackburn Rovers back in February, John Eustace has brought organisation to a club that appeared to be falling apart at the seams. After edging the team to survival, Eustace has galvanised Blackburn over the summer. This has been in spite of losing star striker, Sammie Szmodics, and been faced with issues with the club’s owners, the Venky’s group, being able to supply funding from their home of India.

A combination of some inspired transfer business on relatively limited funds and the sense of clarity that John Eustace has brought to the club has been behind their strong start to the campaign. Aside from Saturday’s win over 10-man Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn haven’t really dominated games this season, but have instead been able to dig in and wait for opportunities to hurt teams. They are an incredibly hard-working and resilient team that are the archetypal nightmare to play against.

Who To Look Out For?

Despite losing a 27-goal striker from last season, in Sammie Szmodics, Blackburn Rovers have replaced the forward in the aggregate very impressively. Japanese striker, Yuki Ohashi, has led the charge with his poacher’s instincts in the penalty box, but he has often been facilitated by the powerful Makhtar Gueye, who excels at holding off defenders and bringing others into play. In addition, Andi Weimann, Tyrhys Dolan and Ryan Hedges have all made key contributions from attacking midfield and wide areas, with the spark of Todd Cantwell another recent addition to that mix, allowing John Eustace to mix and match the team’s threat both within and between matches.

Perhaps the key to Blackburn Rovers’ success this season has been their defensive resilience. That has been led by the gritty midfield pairing of Lewis Travis and Sondre Tronstad. Travis, who had looked on the verge of leaving the club a few months ago, is almost exactly the midfielder that Coventry City fans feel their team is missing. A tigerish and fiery presence in the middle who loves to leave his foot into challenges, get into referees’ heads and wind opponents up, Travis will relish turning the CBS Arena crowd against him. Tronstad, meanwhile, is a dependable, reliable defensive midfield presence who further helps Blackburn dig in and resist pressure.

In defence, Dominic Hyam, Danny Batth and Hayden Carter have further added to Blackburn Rovers’ stubbornness at the back with their organisational and combative skills. That has meant that the inconsistent Aynsley Pears in goal has rarely had much work to do in games this season, which had been a key worry about this Blackburn team heading into the campaign.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Coventry City are probably at the stage where a clean sheet is the sole priority here as they look to go back to basics to build confidence. The worry here is that Blackburn Rovers, despite their form and league position, are perfectly happy to sit back and soak up opposition pressure as they wait for opportunities to sting on the counter. That may tempt the Sky Blues into long, aimless spells of possession that frustrates the home crowd and leads to poor decisions on the ball that play directly into Blackburn’s hands.

Being able to play the ball forward quickly and accurately to stretch a Blackburn Rovers defensive line that isn’t blessed with pace is going to be a key aim here. Victor Torp’s passing from midfield could be a key weapon here, especially if Haji Wright can overcome some of the sloppiness he’s shown recently to lead the charge on the break to create opportunities for the Sky Blues. If Coventry City can get their noses in front – which feels a big if right now – the pace of Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ephron Mason-Clark to introduce from the bench could be useful to finish the game off.

The key danger for Coventry City is from getting caught up the pitch by a Blackburn Rovers side that themselves have a lot of pace and inventiveness on the break. Tyrhys Dolan has been in excellent form of late leading the counter-attacking charge for Blackburn, and they’ll either look to take advantage via the bustling, physical presence of Makhtar Gueye to open up further space for their attacking players by muscling off Coventry’s centre-backs or feed the goal-poacher Yuki Ohashi, with Todd Cantwell another who the Sky Blues can ill-afford handing time and space to.