Sideways Sammy

A defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last time out demonstrated that Coventry City’s current problems run a little deeper than needing just one win to lift confidence. Outworked and outmuscled from a winning position, the Sky Blues need to toughen up if they want to put a run of form together to propel them towards their end of season expectations. This run up to the next international break in November feels important in establishing just what this team is good at and how that can be forged into a winning mentality.

An away trip to Preston North End is almost exactly the last place a Coventry City side low on both confidence and luck would want to head to. The Sky Blues have never won a league game there, ever, and while part of that record is down to significant periods in which the two clubs haven’t been in the same division, Preston seem to embody the muscular, professional approach to football that Coventry sides over the years have rarely had. However, this is a Preston side that has similarly struggled over the opening weeks of the season and this run will eventually end, surely.

Expected Line-Up

If Mark Robins had been looking to build on that win over Blackburn Rovers two games ago, the performance against Sheffield Wednesday highlighted that it may not be a case of picking an XI and sticking with it to get into form. While fatigue was probably a factor last time out, there were a few individuals who showed just why they may not always be the best option for every game.

The strongest candidates for dropping out of the starting line-up for this game are Liam Kitching and Ephron Mason-Clark, who both struggled against Sheffield Wednesday. Kitching is starting to run out of chances at Coventry City, once again demonstrating a failure to maintain concentration, which led to Wednesday’s equaliser. Meanwhile, Ephron Mason-Clark just didn’t look suited to establishing himself in a game against physical opposition, which is going to be a similar task this time out.

Brandon Thomas-Asante, similarly, was nowhere near as effective at centre-forward against Sheffield Wednesday as he was against Blackburn Rovers but he might be kept in the team here for his work-rate and moved to a right wing position in place of Ephron Mason-Clark. While Tatsuhiro Sakamoto should be fit again for this game after suffering a nasty cut on his leg against Blackburn, Mark Robins may be a little cautious in throwing the winger back into the firing line after some of the recent blows he’s sustained.

That should leave Ellis Simms free to have a run to boost his confidence at centre-forward after a slow start to the campaign. There may be temptation, however, to throw Norman Bassette into the mix in attack after he bullied a Birmingham City’s hapless under-21 team in midweek and scored five in the process. While Preston North End will be a significantly tougher challenge, Bassette has gained the benefit of some wind in his sails entering this match.

Finally, there are suggestions that both Ben Wilson and Jake Bidwell may be injured and missing for this game. For both Oliver Dovin and Jay Dasilva, this could be an opportunity to establish themselves as first-choice, even if this isn’t necessarily the ideal game to throw more technical players into the mix.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City were looking to build some momentum to leap into the play-offs back in February but were bullied into submission at the CBS Arena by a sharper Preston North End outfit. The away side were ahead within the first minute, when Emil Riis Jakobsen guided a header past a weak Ben Wilson hand. It was two in the 20th minute, when Jay Dasilva dallied on the ball in the penalty area, allowing Will Keane to fire home from close range. It was game over before the break, when the Sky Blues were caught up the pitch and a scrambling Bobby Thomas turned a cross past Ben Wilson into the back of the net.

It was a miserable performance from Coventry City, not only full of errors but lacking any invention or fight. The remainder of the game seemed to be focused on preventing the scoreline getting any worse than making any attempt to salvage a result.

The Opposition

The Manager – Paul Heckingbottom

Preston North End fans never seemed happy with the management of Ryan Lowe over recent seasons and all it took was one defeat in the opening game for him to call it quits at Deepdale. Lowe has been replaced by Paul Heckingbottom who, despite having two promotions from his CV and being capable of getting his teams playing good football, probably suffers from having the most dour Yorkshireman name and demeanour conceivable. Heckingbottom has yet to really get going at North End but is working with the disadvantage of not having had a pre-season to work with the squad and imprint any of his own ideas.

Paul Heckingbottom has largely kept to the template established by Ryan Lowe, of a back three and looking to play fairly direct to avoid their relatively slow defence getting caught up the pitch. Preston North End are one of the lowest teams for average possession this season and have one of the highest proportions of forward passes. Both of Heckingbottom’s wins have come at home, with the team having less than 45% of the ball. Until the manager can change things around in the transfer market, things are likely to stay this way at Deepdale.

Who To Look Out For?

Preston North End will be without two of their best strikers for this game, with Will Keane out injured and Milutin Osmajic suspended after biting an opponent in a recent derby against Blackburn Rovers. Nonetheless, they still have a number of attacking players perfectly capable of hurting Coventry City and preying on any lack of confidence the Sky Blues show.

The Danish pairing of Emil Riis Jakobsen and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen will be Preston’s primary source of threat in this game. Riis is a big centre-forward who isn’t necessarily the most mobile but excels when he’s given the service to attack crosses in the penalty area. Frokjaer-Jensen, meanwhile, is a nimble attacking midfielder who can make things happen with his dribbling ability and eye for a pass on the break.

The wing-backs will be Preston’s key source of service into those front-men, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden on the right blessed with extreme pace, while Robbie Brady on the left will be one to close down from crossing areas in order to prevent Emil Riis having anything to attack in the penalty area. Preston can change things up from the bench with the inventive Duane Holmes and summer signing, Jeppe Okkels, if Coventry stymie their initial threat from wide areas.

It is the core of embattled, hard-working players in midfield and defence that can make this Preston North End side so awkward to deal with. While they lost their captain, Alan Browne, over the summer, Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann and Brad Potts are all pretty physical, hard-running midfielders who will put their foot in and try and stop Coventry City playing through them, with Ryan Ledson to come on from the bench as another who loves a tackle.

In defence, Liam Lindsay is a key organising presence at the heart of the back three, with Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes either side of him providing consistent performance levels. When teams are able to get through North End’s defensive phalanx, Freddie Woodman in goal is one of the best shot-stoppers in the Championship, having kept double figures for clean sheets in all four full seasons at this level he has been a number one.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

There is a balance to strike in this game for Coventry City between not playing too slowly and riskily in their own half but also finding a way to draw Preston North End up the pitch to expose their relatively slow back-line. Preston are a team that are perfectly happy not to have the ball for long periods, so, as mad as it seems, playing out from the back in potentially dangerous areas is probably the Sky Blues best bet to prevent Preston sitting in and picking them off on the break.

The potential return of Oliver Dovin in goal could well help Coventry City in those efforts if they want to attempt to bait Preston North End into coming up the pitch to press them. Equally, having someone in the final third who can either hold the ball up or run in behind to act as an outlet for the back-line to hit when the pressure gets too much, will be key in presenting Preston getting on top. Haji Wright could have a key role to play as someone who offers both physicality and pace, and can make runs between the wide centre-back and wing-back that could be difficult for the opposition to pick up.

That slower build-up approach may rest entirely on just how confident Mark Robins feels his team is. If not, this may be a case of looking to avoid errors and trying to keep the clean sheet as priority one and building from there. Preston are a team that can be a nightmare to play against after falling behind, which could lead to a cagey start from the Sky Blues as they look to build their confidence up from its current low ebb.