Sideways Sammy

After a solid start to the season and the closing of the transfer window, now is the time for Coventry City to nail down and focus on establishing their top six bid this campaign. A tough month of September starts with a home game against a Norwich City side who will be one of the Sky Blues’ key rivals for a play-off place this year. If the opening games have been light-sparring, now is when the real fight begins.

The Canaries have had a mixed start but sit just two points behind Coventry City, knowing that a win here puts a positive spin on their opening games. The headline heading into this match is the shoot-out between two of the division’s most in-form strikers, and rivals for a spot on the US Men’s National Team, in Norwich’s Josh Sargent against Coventry’s Haji Wright. It looks to set up what should be an entertaining contest between two teams who now they have goals in them.

Expected Line-Up

Transfer deadline day saw four first-team players leave, with just one new arrival, which leaves Coventry City looking thin – particularly, in attacking areas – from now up until January. However, the starting XI looks strong and in-form enough to park any worries over depth until if and when injuries start to mount up. Frank Lampard may well name an unchanged team yet again, but there are some selection considerations he may have in mind.

The headline team selection decision surrounds that of that one new addition to the squad, Luke Woolfenden at centre-back. With Bobby Thomas having endured an indifferent start to the campaign, there is an argument to slot Woolfenden in straight away. However, with the former Ipswich Town man so recently added to the squad and possibly not that much of an improvement on Thomas anyway, the smarter move may be to stick with what’s familiar for the time being and hope some of the bad luck that’s been happening at the back recently begins to even itself out.

The bigger decision may be on the right wing, where Tatsuhiro Sakamoto look set to be fit enough to be in contention to start this game. Brandon Thomas-Asante has been in good form recently in Sakamoto’s stead, but the Japanese winger nearly creating the winner against Oxford United in the handful of minutes he had on highlights that he is a difference-maker of the quality to command a starting place upon his return. Although, the sense is that Frank Lampard will favour the rhythm and familiarity of a settled starting line-up, keeping Sakamoto available as the key game-changer from the bench.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City looked to have pulled off a rare win at Carrow Road at the start of the year, having ridden some early pressure to take the lead mid-way through the first-half when Milan van Ewijk got on the end of a Jake Bidwell cross. It could even have been two late-on, when Brandon Thomas-Asante was clean through on goal but could only produce a tame attempted finish.

Would the Sky Blues regret that? Of course they would. Having looked to have seen off waves of late Norwich pressure, their substitute, Amankwah Forson, casually placed a shot from outside the box into the top corner for his first goal for the club. Even later on, Joel Latibeaudiere’s pathetic attempt to Onel Hernandez left the Cuban winger free to tee up Forson for his second (and most recent) goal for the Canaries. It all served to underline how Norwich City are a team that somehow always gets lucky against Coventry City.

The Opposition

The Manager – Liam Manning

Born in Norwich and having come through their academy (before following the Marcelino Nunez road down to Suffolk), Liam Manning returns to Carrow Road as a proven manager at Championship level. Having taken Bristol City into the play-offs last season, the idea is that Manning will do the same with the Canaries this year as part of what has been close to an overhaul of the squad in the wake of two bottom-half finishes in the three campaigns since relegation from the Premier League.

The tension Liam Manning may well face at Norwich City this year is between his cautious approach based around holding onto possession and positional discipline against some of the flamboyant signings the club has made. Both of Manning’s wins this season have come away from home, where the team has benefitted from not having to take the game to opponents. An away trip to a team with top six aspirations provides Manning with the kind of opportunity to focus on defence first that he prefers to as a manager.

Who To Look Out For?

Having scored in every league game and all but one of Norwich’s goal total to his name, Josh Sargent is clearly the man to stop for the Canaries. It is surprising that the American remains a Championship player, with Norwich City’s ability to keep him aided by Sargent turning down a move to Wolfsburg over the summer. A powerful physical presence but also someone who plays with great energy in covering a lot of ground off-the-ball and composure in taking chances, Sargent is a complete presence in attack who can win games all on his own. Coventry City’s biggest hope may well be in him being jetlagged from having featured in both of the United States’ fixtures over the international break.

Norwich have almost completely rebuilt their defence over the summer, looking to put together a unit that can stay solid but also be comfortable on the ball. New goalkeeper, Vladan Kovacevic, is someone willing to take risks in possession to navigate teams attempting to press him, while Harry Darling is another solid enough defender who is supremely confident with the ball at his feet.

With the experienced Scottish midfielder, Kenny McLean, sitting in front of the backline, Norwich will feel more comfortable soaking up pressure in the game than Coventry City will. Finding the right supporting cast for Josh Sargent has been Liam Manning’s main concern this season, with Danish striker, Mathias Kvistgaarden, and Senegalese winger, Pape Amadou Diallo, big money additions over the summer who haven’t quite settled into the starting XI but will be dangerous when they do.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

The challenge for Coventry City in this game will be in looking to break down a team attempting to settle into a solid defensive shape and target any gaps in the Sky Blues’ backline with balls into the channels for Josh Sargent to chase and turn into scoring opportunities. The key here looks to be in finding a balance between playing with urgency to break through Norwich’s defensive lines but avoiding playing too quickly and leaving space on the transition.

The plan to deal with Josh Sargent will likely define how much time Coventry City get to figure out that balance in possession. The American striker will likely relish having open space to get into foot-races with any one of Coventry’s centre-backs, while also knowing he has a good chance of outmuscling them if they get too tight to him. The key will be looking to defend the space rather than the player himself, avoiding the likes of Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching rushing into one-against-one battles as they are wont to do. Matt Grimes could have an important role to play in reading some of those balls into Sargent and positioning himself to intercept them.

Additionally, Coventry City are going to have to be wary of not getting suckered into the pressure the home crowd will give them to press Norwich City’s goalkeeper, Vladan Kovacevic, who is very happy to take extra touches on the ball to play around chasing opposing strikers and provide Josh Sargent with the service into space.

As far as areas of opportunity go, Coventry City have the ability to overwhelm a Norwich City side that doesn’t quite seem to suit a back three system in wide areas. On the left, the Canaries are currently utilising the winger, Pape Amadou Diallo, as a left wing-back, while Ben Chrisene is a left-back playing at left centre-back. That should provide Milan van Ewijk opportunities to stretch the opposing defence on Coventry’s right. On the other side, Jakov Medic has been a little positionally-suspect at right centre-back, which is potentially where Haji Wright should look to drift from centre-forward in search of space.