Sideways Sammy

For the second time in the space of three seasons, Coventry City are in the play-offs and potentially just three games away from a long-awaited return to the Premier League. In what has been an inconsistent campaign, the Sky Blues ended it on the right note, comfortably dispatching Middlesbrough in front of a sell-out home crowd to earn themselves fifth-place in the league and two games against an out-of-form Sunderland side to earn a shot at the play-off final.

it is hard to imagine a team coming into the play-offs in worse form than Sunderland are in. Having lost their five final games of the campaign and with just one goal in their last six, the Black Cats have been in a tail-spin. Still, Sunderland are a side that have shown they are better than much of the Championship for much of the season and are entering a new context of the play-offs, with the chance to quickly erase that poor end to the campaign. Having a goal in sight can completely change how a team performs.

Expected Line-Up

The returns of Milan van Ewijk and Bobby Thomas last Saturday allowed Frank Lampard to name close to his strongest possible starting XI at a crucial time. On top of that, a, not quite fully-fit, Ben Wilson came in to provide some steadiness in goal to help further foment the sense of a play-off ready team coming together for Coventry City.

The two big decisions for this game look to be at left-back and the centre-forward position. At left-back, the return from suspension of Jay Dasilva allows Frank Lampard to restore one of the team’s form players to the starting XI. What might seem an easy decision is possibly complicated by the value the manager may place on Jake Bidwell being one of the few remaining players from the play-off campaign two years ago who are a viable starter here. Although, that may be a bigger consideration heading into the second leg.

At centre-forward, Brandon Thomas-Asante produced one of the few convincing displays in the position that Coventry City have seen this season in the closing stages of the Middlesbrough game. While there is an argument that Thomas-Asante did well because he came on late against a tired defence, in the context of Ellis Simms’ struggles in front of goal and just how important starting this game strongly could have, Thomas-Asante may well be given the chance to make the position his own from the start.

A potential curveball Frank Lampard could throw is playing Haji Wright through the middle, with the American’s hat-trick against the same opposition back in March surely on the manager’s mind. Brandon Thomas-Asante could be played on the left in order to facilitate that, a move which could be further aided if Ephron Mason-Clark is deemed fit enough to return to the squad for one of these next two games.

Last Time We Met

As mentioned above, it was the Haji Wright show at the CBS Arena as he terrorised a flat-footed Sunderland side to secure an important win for Coventry City to firm up their top six place back in March. The American got the Sky Blues off to a great start, receiving the ball from well outside the penalty area and teasing Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien before unleashing a low shot past Anthony Patterson from range. It was two shortly after, when Wright teased the Black Cats’ other centre-back, Chris Mepham, drawing a penalty-kick from which he scored.

The second-half was largely a non-event as Coventry City continued to keep Sunderland at arm’s length and the Black Cats lacked the impetus to do much about it. Haji Wright sealed his hat-trick mid-way through the half, when he was sent through – once again, by Victor Torp – and chipped the ball over the onrushing Anthony Patterson, who had found himself in no-man’s land.

The Opposition

The Manager – Regis Le Bris

Having transformed a Sunderland side that looked like mid-table fodder entering the campaign into one of the best teams in the league, Regis Le Bris may well be reflecting on how different the season might have been had the Black Cats held onto a 1-0 lead against Leeds United back on the 17th February. That defeat at Elland Road saw Sunderland drop off the automatic promotion pace and they have since struggled to find the motivation to pick up results at the rate they had been, knowing that a 4th-placed finish was both the best and worst they could achieve.

Sunderland have won four of their last fourteen games, with just the nine goals in that period highlighting a key issue, their sudden inability to score. Regis Le Bris has tried everything to try and coax Sunderland into form, from rotating the squad to hand fringe players the chance to play themselves into the team to reverting to something closer to his strongest XI hoping to build confidence heading into the play-offs. The key question is whether this poor form is simply due to a lack of motivation or indicative of a deeper malaise.

Who To Look Out For?

If there is one area of the team Sunderland can rely upon for quality despite their poor form over the final third of the campaign, it is in midfield. The return to fitness of star January signing, Enzo Le Fee, bolsters what was already a strong and well-balanced area of the pitch. Le Fee, arguably a European competition level player, provides some extra star quality on top of the physical presence of Jobe Bellingham, the the passing ability of Dan Neil and the technical brilliance of Chris Rigg. If Coventry City allow the Black Cats time on the ball in the middle, they have the quality to punish.

The absence of Romaine Mundle leaves Sunderland a touch short on attacking options, with the hope being that the trio of Patrick Roberts, Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor can discover the firepower they have been missing in recent months. Isidor is, theoretically, the key danger man with his explosive pace and ability to score superlative finishes but has been desperately out-of-form since scoring the goal that put Sunderland ahead against Leeds back in February. Roberts may be short of pace for a winger but his dribbling and crossing ability means he can make things happen in tight areas. Mayenda, meanwhile, is a raw and explosive centre-forward who be a big threat when he’s on form.

At the back, having Northern Ireland international, Dan Ballard, back fit is a huge boost, allowing Regis Le Bris to have two experienced, physical centre-backs at the heart of his defence, with Ballard a commanding presence alongside the more mobile Bournemouth loanee, Chris Mepham. At full-back, Trai Hume on the right and Denis Cirkin on the left are two full-backs that are strong defenders first and foremost. If Anthony Patterson can find some confidence in goal, Sunderland have the ingredients of a side that can keep a clean sheet at the CBS Arena.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Playing home in the first leg may well set up Coventry City up quite nicely to take command of this tie, in light of their recent struggles on the road. Recent matches at the CBS Arena have highlighted how much this team relishes performing in big games in front of their own fans, tending to start at a high intensity to stamp their mark on the game. One more of those performances could take the Sky Blues a long way towards reaching the play-off final.

With Sunderland so out of form in front of goal, they will surely target keeping things as tight as possible here in order to give themselves the best possible chance of taking advantage of Coventry City’s poor away form in the second leg. The return of Dan Ballard could be huge for them in providing that extra physicality and nous at the back to be able to ride the wave of enthusiasm the Sky Blues will throw at them here. It is unlikely that Coventry will be provided the kind of space to run into that Haji Wright benefitted from back in March.

Another key returnee for Sunderland is Enzo Le Fee, who is their biggest danger-man – especially, in light of Romaine Mundle being injured and Wilson Isidor being out of form. The Frenchman may be somewhat out of position as a left winger, but his passing and crossing ability has the ability to unlock much better defences than Coventry City’s. Furthermore, as an excellent set-piece taker, he could provide the kind of something out of nothing moment that could turn a strong team defensive effort into a winning one.

The challenge for Coventry City here is likely to be about finding a way to play through a tight, resolute defence that knows a clean sheet will set them up strongly for the second leg. The onus is likely to fall on Matt Grimes and Ben Sheaf to provide the control and intent in possession to keep Coventry on the front foot, hoping that will find time and space for Jack Rudoni, Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to make things happen. Unless the Sky Blues can blow Sunderland away early on, this game and tie overall will be about holding the nerve rather than looking to score at every opportunity.