Sideways Sammy

After a dismal first-half display against Cardiff City last time out, Coventry City failed to take advantage of equalising and the opposition being down to ten men to claim all three points. It maintains the sense that this team is treading water right now, letting the season pass them by. The January transfer window offers hope that new figures can come into the side to change that, but there is at least one fixture to navigate before any changes are made.

The Sky Blues travel to Carrow Road, a ground they haven’t won at since 2009, to take on a Norwich City side who are starting to rebuild momentum after a poor run following the October international break. It is a tough assignment and if Coventry play anything like they did in the first-half against Cardiff, they will stand little chance of taking anything from this game.

Expected Line-Up

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto taking a hefty knock in the closing stages of the draw at Cardiff City on New Year’s Day couldn’t have come at a worse time for Coventry City, if he is to miss this game. At a time where fellow wide options, Haji Wright and Ephron Mason-Clark are also out, the Sky Blues could be seriously short of quality in those areas in a game where they are likely not to have much of the ball.

Frank Lampard has only deviated from his preferred 4-2-3-1 system very late on in two of the games he’s had in charge – against West Bromwich Albion and last time out against Cardiff City – whether he does so from the start here is the key decision he has to make. The issue with moving from the 4-2-3-1 to account for the lack of wide options available is that it would almost certain involve switching to a three at the back, which may disrupt the work that has been put in of late into improving the team’s defensive record.

The easiest decision would be to place Brandon Thomas-Asante on the right wing and stick with the current shape, however, Lampard has yet to use the forward on that flank and the fact that he’s looked to shoehorn Jack Rudoni on the left, rather than start Thomas-Asante, recently hints at a lack of trust in his ability. Raphael Borges Rodrigues is another option, but a much longer shot given that he’s had injury issues since joining the club in the summer and only played his first minutes a few days ago.

Elsewhere, it’s hard to see where the scope for change is. Ellis Simms getting himself heavily involved in the equalising goal against Cardiff City should help him stay in the side at centre-forward, elsewhere, there are few viable candidates to come into the team, given that Frank Lampard seems to be reticent to take a look at the likes of Liam Kitching and Jamie Allen as starting players.

Last Time We Met

It was one of those early home games for Coventry City this season that set the ill tone for the campaign when they last took on Norwich City. The Sky Blues probably had the best of what was a tight first-half, with Ellis Simms missing a big chance to put the team ahead. However, the Canaries spotted a weakness from Coventry in defending wide areas and took advantage of that to create the game’s only goal, finished by Borja Sainz, early in the second-half.

From then on, Coventry City were left to chase shadows as Norwich City passed them into oblivion. Mark Robins attempted to change the game by going to two up top, but that only allowed the Canaries to dominate even more in a 1-0 win that could have been more if they had demonstrated more of a killer instinct.

The Opposition

The Manager – Johannes Hoff Thorup

The Danish coach has impressed since taking over at Norwich City in the summer, implementing a clear philosophy of attractive, passing football that has been easy on the eye. What had looked like a good chance of challenging for the play-offs ran aground following the October international break, when just about every one of Norwich’s best players got injured but they have won two of their three festive fixtures to breathe life back into their top six hopes.

As Johannes Hoff Thorup showed in that last meeting between the two sides, he is a tactically intelligent coach who can make changes and tweaks within matches to his side’s advantage. With several positionally flexible players at his disposal, Norwich City can be a tough team to feel truly on top of, capable of switching things up just when they look to be in a corner.

Who To Look Out For?

Rather unhelpfully for Coventry City, despite Norwich City and the Championship’s top-scorer, Borja Sainz, looking set for a six-game ban for spitting, that ban will not come in time for this fixture. The fiery Spaniard absolutely thrives on winding opponents up, willing to leave his boot into challenges, start arguments and make himself the pantomime villain. He is also extremely technically gifted, able to beat opponents for skill out wide before smashing shots in from range.

Sainz’s excellence in attack has eased what could have been the huge blow of star striker, Josh Sargent, having had injury issues for much of this campaign. That has forced some of Norwich’s younger summer signings – the promising but raw trio of Ante Crnac, Oscar Schwartau and Amankwah Forson – into playing more regularly than had been the intention, but that pressure has been eased by the recent move to play the physical winger, Onel Hernandez, at centre-forward and the addition of creative forward, Emiliano Marcondes, to the squad in October.

Chilean midfielder, Marcelino Nunez, has been one of the key beneficiaries of Norwich City’s move to a possession-heavy style under Johannes Hoff Thorup. Having been a talented but peripheral squad member in his first two years at the club, Nunez has thrived as the ticking metronome of this team, able to keep play flowing short passes before then cutting opponents open with the kind of killer through balls that Coventry City have struggled to play in recent games. With the experienced and physical duo of Kenny McLean and Anis Ben Slimane alongside him, Nunez’s role in this Norwich side is purely as the playmaker.

Aiding Nunez in his playmaking duties is former Coventry City loanee, Callum Doyle, from centre-back. With five assists to his name this season, Doyle is in the top ten in the Championship for goals created. Having Doyle as a creative threat from centre-back makes Norwich especially awkward to deal with, able to pick off teams who look to press them or take advantage of opponents who give him time on the ball. Doyle is joined by the physical Shane Duffy to fit those key battles in defence, with the ability of full-backs, Jack Stacey and Ben Chrisene to open up the pitch with runs from deep out wide.

Finally, in Angus Gunn, Norwich City have a goalkeeper who is, on his day, one of the best in the division.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This looks set to be a rare game for Coventry City under Frank Lampard where they will have to deal with an opponent looking to keep the majority of possession, rather than do so themselves. While it is perhaps an enticing prospect given recent struggles to convert long spells with the ball into chances and goals, the question is whether this team is able to soak up pressure and threaten on the counter-attack. The lack of fit and available wide attacking options is a particular concern with the latter.

Preventing Callum Doyle and Marcelino Nunez having the time on the ball to pick the kind of gaps behind the Coventry City defence that Cardiff City were able to with ease during the first-half of the last game may well be the primary challenge here. It is likely to be about the team staying in shape to deny easy passing options for the duo that will be important. While Milan van Ewijk’s pace at right-back may be useful to deal with those balls over the top, Norwich are likely to be smart enough to look to target the weaker left side of the Sky Blues’ backline.

If Coventry City are able to threaten on the counter-attack, Norwich City will leave space behind their full-backs to take advantage of. While they look to mitigate that by pressing high, which could be an area they find join with, if the Sky Blues can get that pass out of defence right, there may be space up the pitch to exploit. Perhaps this is where Brandon Thomas-Asante could have a key role to play, if selected.