Sideways Sammy

After squandering a golden opportunity to claim a result against one of the best teams in the division, Coventry City need to get back into a winning mentality over the remaining six games to claim a play-off spot. The fixtures may get less difficult from here on out, but every game will see the Sky Blues up against opponents with something to play for. If Coventry aren’t ready to match and beat that level of intensity, they could quickly see their season slip away from them.

The run-in starts with a home game against a Portsmouth side who are one of the worst away teams in the Championship this season, conceding an average of two goals a game on their travels. Coventry City will, nonetheless, be wary of an opponent that inflicted upon them their worst defeat of the season four months ago in the previous meeting. Feeling the pressure of being just three points above the drop, Portsmouth will arrive with the motivation of needing a result.

Expected Line-Up

All eyes will surely be on the decision made in goal, where two glaring errors from Brad Collins has well-and-truly killed any belief that the goalkeeper can win the confidence and trust of both fans and team-mates. Unless the coaching staff have seen something in training this week that would suggest otherwise, Collins looks remain in situ. The feeling being that Frank Lampard would prefer not to chop and change in goal if it can be avoided. especially at this time of the season.

The likelihood is that Coventry City will be unchanged elsewhere, even if there are one or two concerns about individual performance levels. Namely, Liam Kitching will do well to keep his place in the side after a sloppy display against Burnley, and Ephron Mason-Clark may need a big performance soon with his levels looking to have dipped after the past few games.

The biggest outfield decision is probably who partners Matt Grimes in midfield. Frank Lampard would surely love a fully-fit Ben Sheaf to come in and provide someone who can offer both physicality and quality on the ball alongside Grimes, but his lack of involvement recently would indicate he’s not currently in a position to start games. If the manager is feeling confident about the team’s ability to dominate possession, Victor Torp may take Jamie Allen’s place to offer more quality on the ball, but Allen could be favoured due to Portsmouth’s physical intensity.

Last Time We Met

At the end of the season, Callum Lang will have Brad Collins largely to thank for reaching double-figures for league goals for Portsmouth. Lang, who has scored just once since that game back in December, was virtually handed at least three of the four he went on to register in this clash via mistakes from Collins.

It had all started so encouragingly for Coventry City down on the South Coast. Norman Bassette had turned in an Ephron Mason-Clark cross to hand the away side the lead within the first few minutes, the Belgian then spurned a golden opportunity almost directly from the resulting kick-off to make it two. Further chances for the Sky Blues followed, with it looking like a question of just how many they would win the game by.

Even when Portsmouth scored from pretty much their first attempt on goal, an effort from outside the box from Callum Lang that Brad Collins contrived to allow into the back of the net despite having plenty of time to make the save, Coventry looked the likeliest team to go on to win the game. However, the one goal that couldn’t be blamed on Collins, with Jay Dasilva failing to deal with a simple ball over the top from which Lang finished from, was a blow the Sky Blues were unable to recover from.

Portsmouth had their tails up early in the second-half, buoyed by their home crowd and the knowledge that there were errors to capitalise on from the opposition if they looked to force them. Coventry City had been unable to get out of their own half by the time Pompey had won a corner three minutes after the re-start. When Brad Collins flapped at the delivery to allow Lang an easy header to complete his hat-trick, the jig was well and truly up for the Sky Blues.

Brad Collins sealed what mark the start of a lengthy spell out of the side after inexplicably palming a goal-line clearance right at the feet of Callum Lang to make it 4-1 to Portsmouth. An individual performance no amount of rationalisation could defend.

The Opposition

The Manager – John Mousinho

After a slow start to the season where Portsmouth looked completely out of their depth at this level, John Mousinho has steered Pompey into a reasonably comfortable position with six games remaining. Facing the dual challenge of a lack of resources in the transfer market and a series of injuries at unhelpful times, Portsmouth have proved solid and combative enough over the course of the campaign to keep their noses above water.

At their best, Portsmouth are a really awkward side to come against, with their ability to press with energy and quickly get the ball into the box with their quality in wide areas. At their worst, they are toothless in front of goal and porous at the back. That contrast in performance levels tends to correlate with being home or away, although they have shown signs of competing better on the road as the season has worn on.

Who To Look Out For?

The best piece of transfer business Portsmouth did in an otherwise sub-par summer window was taking Josh Murphy off fellow promoted side, Oxford United. The winger, who had been viewed as the brighter prospect than his twin brother and ex-Coventry City loanee, Jacob, looked to be on a downward spiral until revitalising his career last season with Oxford. Quick, skilful and with excellent delivery, Josh Murphy is someone whose influence on this game will have to be kept to a minimum.

On the other wing is the vastly-experienced Matt Ritchie, who has grown into the campaign having looked a sentimental signing when he arrived over the summer. Another excellent crosser of the ball, Ritchie may not have much pace left but he is someone who can still produce match-winning moments if left in too much space.

Top-scorer Callum Lang may be out, but Colby Bishop’s presence up front for Portsmouth is a bigger threat anyway. The former Leamington striker’s return to fitness earlier in the campaign is a key reason why Pompey pulled themselves away from the relegation battle, his physical presence provides a crucial reference point in the final third that gets others into the game.

At the back, Portsmouth have been beset by injuries which have prevented them from having a settled back-line throughout the campaign. The return of Regan Poole has been a boost, while Connor Ogilvie is a steady presence alongside him. At left-back, Cohen Bramall’s express pace could be a key way in which Pompey turn defence into attack.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Portsmouth are likely to come to the CBS Arena to try and frustrate, knowing that even a point would be bolster their survival hopes. With physicality up top and crossing threat out wide, they’ll feel confident that the longer they keep the game tight, the more chance they’ll stand of nicking something at the other end. This is likely to be a test of Coventry City’s ability to both keep possession and threaten with it.

That second part has been the issue over the past couple of games against quality defensive units. Portsmouth are decidedly less so but showed in the last meeting that they can be awkward to play through when their tails are up and they can organise their press. Matt Grimes will be key in navigating Pompey’s attempts to stop Coventry City playing, while there could be wisdom in adding another ball-player, in Victor Torp, alongside Grimes.

If Portsmouth defend deep, that could really stifle Haji Wright, as someone who likes to float around looking for space rather than staying in the middle in the centre-forward role. As much as the Sky Blues will need to feed balls into Wright early to allow him to isolate Portsmouth’s defence, Wright could do with being more disciplined in his movement to keep the defenders occupied while the team looks to work chances from long spells of possession.

At the other end, Portsmouth may well be tempted to move Josh Murphy onto the right flank in order to target Coventry City’s weakness down the left of their defence. While Jay Dasilva has looked more solid recently, he is still someone who can lose concentration at key moments, exacerbated by the Sky Blues lacking a strong left-sided centre-back to cover. If it’s Matt Ritchie on the right wing, that threat would be eased by Portsmouth’s lack of attacking pace.