Sideways Sammy

A strong performance at home to Sheffield Wednesday last week in the cup, even if it required penalties to secure progress, is hopefully a step towards building some of the momentum that has escaped Coventry City of late. With two home games in the space of seven days, there is a good chance to shake any concerns about getting dragged into the relegation fight, albeit, with the risk that those concerns could become reality if this team continues to throw points away.

The opposition at the start of this three-game week are a Bristol City side eyeing up a run that can put them in contention for the play-offs. A team that is comfortable with ceding possession, making themselves awkward to break down and then threatening on the break of via set-pieces, this is a difficult opponent for a Coventry City team under Frank Lampard that has aspirations of dominating the ball but possesses a fatal glass jaw for teams to exploit.

Expected Line-Up

Frank Lampard stuck with the 3-5-2 system that had previously looked a one-off for the Norwich City game, when the team had no fit senior wingers available, to reasonable effect against Sheffield Wednesday. A return to league action will demonstrate whether it was a temporary move or something more permanent in the search for balance between holding possession and threatening the opposing goal, the indication at the moment is that Lampard will stick with the system for the time being.

That could change if and when Haji Wright and Ephron Mason-Clark become available for selection, but it seems unlikely that either will be ready to start this game. Instead, that leaves Frank Lampard with little flexibility as to the starting line-up here, with there only looking to be decisions to be made at left wing-back and in attack.

The switch to a wing-back system may well favour Jay Dasilva over Jake Bidwell for the starting role on the left. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is a possible contender for that position too, however, Lampard has yet to utilise the Japanese winger in a wing-back role.

In attack, speculation surrounding Brandon Thomas-Asante moving to another Championship club may see him drop out of the starting line-up after some industrious but fruitless recent performances. Whether Ellis Simms and Norman Bassette make a particularly natural front pairing is a matter of debate, but it may be worth a try to see whether the duo can make up in the aggregate what they lack as individuals.

Last Time We Met

It looked to be another early season away day no-show for the Sky Blues, who travelled to Ashton Gate and had barely laid a glove on Bristol City, before their right-back, George Tanner, smashed in a screamer on the stroke of half-time – which was his first goal for the club in nearly three seasons. Coventry City improved in the second-half but an equaliser didn’t really look to be in the offing, until Kasey Palmer reacted fastest in the penalty area to level the scores.

In what was a pretty unremarkable fixture for either side, things might have become livelier in the dying stages of the match had the referee spotted Bristol City’s Joe Williams swinging a punch at Haji Wright following that equaliser.

The Opposition

The Manager – Liam Manning

A good run over the festive period has gone some way to shaking off the sense that Liam Manning is the ultimate mid-table manager for the ultimate mid-table Championship club. 21 wins, 21 draws and 21 losses since Manning took charge last November underline his competence, albeit with an inability to sustain good runs of form.

Just one defeat in the league since the start of December has put Bristol City just four points off the top six and looking to build momentum. Fairly solid at the back and with a range of contributors further forward, the Robins are a hard-working side that maybe lack star power but are the type of team that regularly stay in games, which keeps the points ticking over.

Who To Look Out For?

The attacking midfield duo of Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti are Bristol City’s key match-winners. Twine can float in and out of games but possesses a lethal shot from range that can be particularly deadly from dead-ball situations. Mehmeti, meanwhile, has developed a nice habit of late of ghosting into scoring positions – particualrly helpful given that the team otherwise lacks a reliable goalscorer at centre-forward.

That attacking area can be supplemented either by the goalscoring instincts of Championship stalwart, Nahki Wells, in attack, or the wildcard options of shot-happy striker, Fally Mayulu, the bulldozer that is Sinclair Armstrong, or the nimble-footed Japanese attacking midfielder, Yu Hirakawa. The aim of the rest of the team is to keep things tight and energetic, highlighted by the current wing-back pairing of Ross McCrorie and Haydon Roberts, both of whom have played a lot of their careers at centre-back.

The midfield duo of Jason Knight and Max Bird are the beating heart of this Bristol City team. The former Derby County academy pair provide a nice balance, with Knight covering every blade of grass with his work-rate on and off the ball, while Max Bird can sit deep, tidy things up and spray passes around to open up the pitch. Knight has played every minute of every league game this season, while Bird has only failed to start twice, highlighting their ever-present nature.

At the back, the return of the powerful Rob Dickie for this game to play at the heart of the back three will make Bristol City especially tough to break down. Supplemented by the pace either side of him of Luke McNally and Zak Vyner, Dickie can lead with making key headers and battling with opposing strikers physcially. It all means that Max O’Leary in goal is one of the least-busy goalkeepers in the Championship.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Bristol City will be perfectly happy to let Coventry City have the ball at the CBS Arena in the manner that Frank Lampard is attempting to get this team to be more comfortable with. The key questions about this game surround whether the Sky Blues can convert possession into threat on goal, while avoiding being caught on the counter.

Lampard has looked to get the back three playing high up the pitch, with the wing-backs pushing on too, which has caused issues with opponents making runs into awkward areas that leave the wide centre-backs stretched. While Bristol City don’t necessarily play with a lot of width, they will surely look to utilise Anis Mehmeti and Scott Twine to make runs into those gaps between wide centre-back and wing-back. The worry is that a likely midfield trio of Jamie Allen, Victor Torp and Jack Rudoni is not exactly the most forceful, allowing Bristol City time to pick those passes to exploit the gaps in defence.

Set-pieces are a key area of attacking opportunity for both teams. Bristol City’s is mainly through Scott Twine shooting from free-kicks, while the fact that Coventry City twice had the ball in the net last week from corner-kicks, despite all of the possession, they had highlights that such situations remain a key element of this team’s attacking arsenal. Looking at the physical profile of both teams, Bristol City would seem to have the advantage, but they have conceded the sixth-most goals from set-pieces in the division.