Sideways Sammy

It’s hard to imagine how Saturday could have gone any better for Coventry City, with the acquisition of the CBS Arena followed up by a ruthless 7-1 win over a hapless Queens Park Rangers team. If there are concerns of what happens next being something of an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ scenario, then an unglamorous midweek away trip in the League Cup seems a good time to get that all out of the system.

With both teams having their eyes on achieving at least a top six finish in the Championship, expect heavily-rotated line-ups galore at The Den. This looks set to be an affair only for the most loyal, or local to London, Coventry City supporter, with Millwall having the edge as the home team. This looks set to be purely an exercise in fitness for the players.

Expected Line-Up

Frank Lampard made nine changes to the starting line-up for the last League Cup tie and will surely make changes of a similar magnitude for this one too. Injuries in defence and midfield are the only things that may limit the manager from changing the starting XI entirely, with it being a case of prioritising who needs to be rested most in those key areas of the pitch.

In defence, it will be a case of starting either Bobby Thomas or Liam Kitching alongside Jake Bidwell in the centre-back positions. Miguel Angel Brau will take up the reins at left-back, while Kaine Kesler-Hayden will start at right-back – especially with speculation mounting that Milan van Ewijk is close to leaving the club.

In midfield, the ability to change things up is limited by injuries to Ben Sheaf, Josh Eccles and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and further forward, Norman Bassette’s freezing out affects the potential starting formation. Victor Torp has started every game thus far, so could be due a rest here, with Jamie Allen coming into the team. With little alternative to Jack Rudoni in the number ten spot, that could see Frank Lampard go to 4-4-2, bringing Justin Obikwu in for a first start for the club and seeing Kai Andrews deployed on the left of the midfield.

Predicted Coventry City Line-Up (4-4-2): Wilson; Kesler-Hayden, Thomas, Bidwell, Brau; Raphael, Allen, Grimes, Andrews; Simms, Obikwu.

Last Time We Met

It was a dull affair at the CBS Arena over the Christmas period, with Coventry City off the back of a convincing win over Plymouth Argyle against an obdurate Millwall side with new manager, Alex Neil, watching from the stands. It was a game of almost zero incident as the Sky Blues struggled to carve out openings against a Millwall outfit happy to hold out for the point.

The Opposition

The Manager – Alex Neil

A canny Championship operator whose reputation had taken a little bruising after an underwhelming stint at Stoke City, Alex Neil has shown his ability over the second half of last season at Millwall. Taking over a Lions side in the middle of a rebuild and aimlessly drifting in lower mid-table, Neil galvanised the team and nearly had them make the play-offs. Falling short, Millwall have looked to strengthen over the summer to make a more concerted push for a top six place this year.

The campaign has started well for Millwall, with a 3-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough looking like a blip, either side of one-goal wins over fancied Norwich City and Sheffield United sides. Alex Neil has Millwall looking a tough team to break down, with enough flair at the other end to win tight matches most of the time.

Who To Look Out For?

Millwall, like Coventry City and pretty much every other Championship side, were heavily-rotated for the first round of this competition and will be expected to do similar here. This means that the team’s star players, such as Alfie Doughty at left-back, Mihailo Ivanovic up front and Camiel Neghli out wide, will be rested for this game, on top of Japhet Tanganga at centre-back, who looks to be on the verge of a move to Sheffield United.

That still leaves Millwall with some recognisable faces to bring into the team, with Jake Cooper in central defence a commanding presence who could be a tough nut to crack on a night where chances will be few and far between. Ryan Leonard at right-back and Massimo Luongo will the other experienced operators around a pretty young rest of the team.

Ra’ess Bangura-Williams and Aidomo Emakhu out wide are some exhilarating youngsters who are hoping to push a claim as first-choice players despite the competition at Millwall in that area currently. Additionally Macauley Langstaff in attack, while not young, is someone desperate for chances on the fringes of the team who could do with an impressive performance here.

Predicted Millwall Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Crocombe; Leonard, Grant, Cooper, Sturge; Luongo, Cundle; Williams, Langstaff, Emakhu; Coburn.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

With both teams likely to be heavily changed, the key factors here are likely to be a combination of luck and home advantage. It feels as if which ever side catches the break of taking the lead should be able to see out the result fairly comfortably. As much as both managers will be hoping that back-up players will look to use this game as an opportunity to stake a claim for regular football, the amount of changes brings an element of unfamiliarity that will make it hard for anyone to perform to their best levels.