Sideways Sammy

A tricky midweek away trip to Portsmouth was navigated with relatively little fuss to extend the unbeaten start to the league season to 11 games, Coventry City will look to stretch that further at home to a mid-table Watford side. Having been able to rest one or two important players on Tuesday night, Frank Lampard will be hoping that a full-strength Coventry side will have the requisite ability to take advantage of home comforts to keep this run going.

Watford enter this game off the back of an encouraging midweek win over play-off contenders, West Bromwich Albion, having recently changed managers. With the worst away record in the division, new Hornets boss, Javi Gracia, will be looking to turn things around as quickly as possible. Getting anything off the unbeaten league leaders on their own patch would be a significant coup and one Coventry City will have to be wary of falling victim to in this game.

Expected Line-Up

Able to win while getting a night off for Haji Wright on Tuesday was a key positive to come out of the Portsmouth game. While the American will have sat on the sidelines as Ellis Simms put in an excellent centre-forward’s performance, Wright is highly likely to walk back into the team as he looks to move ahead of Brandon Thomas-Asante as the league’s top goalscorer.

There may be a temptation to stick with the back three that helped the team to victory in midweek, particularly while Jack Rudoni’s absence leaves Coventry City short of a body in midfield. The worry with sticking with a back three is that it made Coventry a bit too passive out of possession, which could be harder to stomach in a home game where the Sky Blues are expected to take the game to the opposition.

It leaves Frank Lampard with a big decision to make as to who to replace Luke Woolfenden in the starting line-up to add that necessary extra body in the centre of the park. Brandon Thomas-Asante is in excellent form and has shown himself to be effective in the number ten role, however, his attacking instincts risk continuing to leave the team short of bodies in midfield. That could leave it a choice between Jamie Allen coming into the starting line-up in order to push Victor Torp further forward, or bringing Josh Eccles into the starting line-up in that position just behind the centre-forward that he’s played in the handful of appearances he’s made this season.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City were starting to build momentum back in January of this year when an out-of-form Watford side travelled to the CBS Arena. After toiling in the first-half, a Jack Rudoni cross picked out a well-timed Victor Torp run in the penalty area to put the Sky Blues ahead for what looked to be a comfortable lead. The Sky Blues continued to push for much of the rest of the game, but that second goal didn’t look to be coming.

That was until Victor Torp lined up a free-kick in an inviting position centrally and just outside the penalty area with 15 minutes to go. The Dane unerringly found the back of the net from over the wall to seal the win for Coventry. However, they had to navigate some late jeopardy when Moussa Sissoko found room in the penalty area and his shot was deflected past Oliver Dovin by Liam Kitching.

The Opposition

The Manager – Javi Gracia

One of the most successful of recent Watford managers, Javi Gracia was behind Watford’s run to the FA Cup Final in 2019 and a steady mid-table finish that would prove the high-water mark for pretty much the last decade for the Hornets. Neither Gracia nor Watford have done particularly well since that hiding to Manchester City in May of 2019 – albeit, with the Hornets returning to the Premier League once and Gracia winning the Qatari league with Al-Sadd – which has led to their reunification, with Watford bobbing along in mid-table in the Championship.

Gracia had come under some early fire at Watford for his team selection last week in an away trip to Sheffield United, where a handful of the team’s less favoured players remained in the starting line-up. A win at home in midweek to West Bromwich Albion has silenced some of that ridiculously early criticism but fans seem so disillusioned with the running of the club currently that any sign of negativity is magnified, which is what Gracia will have to deal with in the early period of his return to Vicarage Road.

Who To Look Out For?

As ever with Watford, their squad is mish-mash of talented individuals, hardy veterans and a handful of others who have been kept on throughout various managers. The star name entering the season was Georgian international, Giorgi Chakvetadze, but he has yet to make an appearance through injury, instead, creative midfielder, Imran Louza, has stepped up, along with new signing, Nestory Irankunda, in attack.

Louza has been at Watford for a long while, looking like someone too good for the level they’re at but somehow never quite realising his talent or finding a move elsewhere. The Moroccan seems to have been unleashed this season to play more expressively, seeing him produce more reliable moments of quality. Meanwhile, Australian international, Irankunda, is a livewire in attacking areas with his raw pace, while also possessing great shooting technique, particularly at set-pieces.

Adding to Watford’s ranks of ‘ballers’ are Kwadwo Baah and Rocco Vata. Baah is an absolutely rapid and skilful wide player who is unstoppable when he gets going but doesn’t seem to be trusted by Javi Gracia over his first two games. Vata, is a slight, technical attacking midfield player who can score screamers out of nowhere. Both are inconsistent but are match-winners on their day.

Additionally, Watford have a collection of very promising strikers to round off the fancy Dans in midfield. Luca Kjerrumgaard has been favoured as first-choice up front this season with his natural goal-poaching abilities, while Vivaldy Semedo is more of a wildcard in the same position. However, the better option in the position may well be the giant Mamadou Doumbia, who provides a more reliable presence with his physicality and energy, albeit in short bursts, in the final third.

Providing the structure looks to be the defensive midfielder, Hector Kyprianou, while Mattie Pollock and Kevin Keben have tended to be favoured at centre-back over the pacier, more technical, James Abankwah. In goal, Egil Selvik, has been a smart, steady addition between the sticks since arriving back in January.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

With pace at the top end of the pitch and physicality at the back end, Watford are going to come to the CBS Arena and look to play on the counter-attack. The challenge for Coventry City here is to be decisive enough in possession to stop Watford being able to sit in, while avoiding being too loose and providing opportunities for the Hornets to run at their defence.

It’s why Frank Lampard has such an important decision to make over whether to stick with a back three, or return to recent attempts at shoehorning someone into the Jack Rudoni role to provide an extra midfield body. It seems as if the manager will do the latter, with Brandon Thomas-Asante likeliest to come into the role. The hope is that Thomas-Asante will make the team play more directly, but the worry is that he offers little if the team have to play through a low block or the midfield gets stretched off the ball.

Matt Grimes, as ever, will be vital in helping stymie the opposition’s threat, whether that’s through breaking up play or keeping the ball ticking over in midfield. Nestory Irankunda running directly in central areas looks to be the key danger, with his tendency to float to the left, potentially leaving Bobby Thomas having to deal with stopping a quick player, which isn’t his forte.

A key area to target is Watford’s tendency to play narrowly, which should leave plenty of room for the full-backs to take advantage of on the overlap. That combination of Milan van Ewijk and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto on the right side looks like it could be a key source of Coventry City’s creativity in this game.