Sideways Sammy

A drab 0-0 draw on opening day leaves Coventry City with plenty to work on in the first few weeks of the campaign, that that can be shelved for this League Cup First Round tie against Luton Town with both managers likely to rotate heavily, as is the tradition for this stage of the competition.

The hope is that anyone coming into the Coventry City starting line-up will view this as an opportunity to get into Frank Lampard’s thinking for Saturday’s trip to Derby County in the league. Realistically, this is going to feel like an additional pre-season friendly, with both sides targeting getting extra minutes into fringe players’ legs rather than going all-out for progress in the competition. The Sky Blues may be favourites, as the team in the higher division, but there probably isn’t much between the two teams’ respective second-string sides.

Expected Line-Up

Just how heavily Frank Lampard rotates for this game remains to be seen. While the manager has tended to pick fairly strong teams in the cup ties he has had thus far, this being a midweek game so early into the campaign may be the greater consideration than any hopes of progress. Whether it will be a complete rotation or a case of seeing what a handful of fringe players can do may be the biggest call to make.

The likes of Haji Wright and Kaine Kesler-Hayden are likely to be handed starts in this game in order to get some minutes into their legs after recent knocks. By that same token, Jack Rudoni will probably be rested, given that he missed a couple of pre-season games with a knock and may not be fully-fit currently.

Areas to look out for are whether Joel Latibeaudiere starts at centre-back, having missed the matchday squad entirely on the opening day. While a key decision could be whether Miguel Angel Brau starts at left-back or further forward, as Frank Lampard figures out ways to blood the Spaniard slowly into the blood and thunder of English football.

Additionally, injuries to Josh Eccles and Ben Sheaf may see Matt Grimes remain in the starting XI in order to set the tempo in the deepest-lying midfield spot. Kai Andrews could be handed a first start for the club alongside Grimes, but Jamie Allen is probably likelier to come into the team, with Victor Torp moving forward to allow the aforementioned Jack Rudoni a rest.

Last Time We Met

A ten-man Coventry City side almost held onto a point that could have all but secured a top six finish and helped send Luton Town down on the penultimate day of last season. Jay Dasilva was sent off early on at Kenilworth Road as Luton’s Millenic Alli ran in behind and the two tangled legs. From then on, it was almost completely one-way traffic as Luton subjected Coventry to a bombardment.

An inspired performance from Brad Collins in goal saw the Sky Blues hold firm for much of the game, long enough for Liam Walsh for Luton Town to get himself bizarrely sent off in a petulant off-the-ball incident. If anything, the levelling of the teams distracted Coventry from their mission to hold onto a crucial point. That lack of concentration could well have been what saw Collins needlessly attempt to claim a harmless cross, dropping it at the feet of Shandon Baptiste, with Luis Binks bizarrely attempting to use his wrong foot to clear the tame effort as it trickled over the line.

A bitter blow but one that, nevertheless, had little impact on end of season outcomes for either side.

The Opposition

The Manager – Matt Bloomfield

Parachuted into the club mid-way through last season with Luton Town on a downwards trajectory, Matt Bloomfield belatedly rallied the Hatters into strong form by the end of the campaign, just a little too late to keep the club from a second consecutive relegation. Luton have lost a handful of key players over the summer but look strong for League One level, as has proved the case with back-to-back wins to start the new season.

Bloomfield has turned Luton Town into the physically aggressive, combative side that they were at their best during their run up to Premier League promotion three years ago. While they aren’t exactly the most free-flowing of attacking teams, their ability to reduce games into physical battles has a tendency to wear opponents down. They can be a relentless side at their best under Matt Bloomfield, even if they are likely to need to become better at creating chances as they look to build a promotion bid this year.

Who To Look Out For?

Matt Bloomfield doesn’t tend to make many changes for cup competitions, so it is likely to be similar Luton Town side to the one that won at Peterborough United at the weekend. Luton will look to be assertive in the challenge, with powerful defensive trio of Mads Andersen, Christ Makosso and Kal Naismith setting the tone, with the energetic Shandon Baptiste paired with the experienced George Saville in central midfield.

The rapid forward, Millenic Alli, has been utilised at wing-back in the opening two games, with Luton Town having sold their first-choice left wing-back, Alfie Doughty, over the summer and are currently missing right wing-back, Isaiah Jones, through injury. Alli will give the team pace on the break, but Matt Bloomfield may be tempted to hand a first start to new signing, Cohen Bramall, to get some minutes into his legs, while centre-back, Nigel Lonwijk, could also be played at wing-back to make the team more solid as the away team from the lower division.

Further forward, Luton Town are looking towards Nahki Wells and Jerry Yates – both experienced Championship-level strikers – to fire the team out of the third-tier. They are likely to be kept in the starting XI here in order to get them used to playing with one another. There is a sense, nonetheless, that Luton might like another, more physical, striker to throw into the mix, with Elijah Adebayo out injured and Carlton Morris having been sold, which may explain why they’ve struggled to create much over the opening two league games.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This threatens to be a game of few chances between a physical Luton Town side that struggle to create much and are the away side and a Coventry City team having made a fair few changes in attack. Both sets of defenders may well be feeling confident with dealing with the opposing set of forwards in a match that could well be decided by a mistake or a set-piece.

Coventry City have the greater chance of breaking that script, especially if the likes of Haji Wright and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto start, both of whom can provide genuine moments of unpredictability when at their best. The ability of that duo to make an impact is likely to depend on whether the rest of the team can get them into positions where Luton’s defence can’t impose their physicality upon them, whether that’s in playing Wright in behind or creating overloads to buy Sakamoto space out wide.