Sideways Sammy

A difficult month has started in the worst possible fashion, with Coventry City losing further bodies and getting somewhat unlucky in defeat at Ipswich Town at the weekend. A trip to Preston North End is unforgiving at the best of times, but the Sky Blues will have to turn a game it feels like they’d rather do without into an opportunity to get back in the winning habit.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side sit fifth in the table, albeit with just one win in their last five games. A physical and energetic side, they are a team that will take advantage of any tired legs among Coventry’s ranks. This is the kind of midweek game a team that achieves something at the end of the campaign has to stand up and be counted in.

Expected Line-Up

Victor Torp picking up an illness overnight ahead of Saturday’s defeat at Ipswich Town came at a particularly unwelcome time, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto continuing to be absent due to concussion, along with Jack Rudoni and Haji Wright needing to be managed after recent returns from injury, on top of Brandon Thomas-Asante’s longer-term absence. At least one of Torp or Sakamoto returning for this game would significantly bolster the hand Frank Lampard has to play in this game.

Playing Kaine Kesler-Hayden from the start in an advanced role didn’t really work last time out but there are one or two things that the manager can do in order to prevent having to do so again for this game. One option would be to bring Haji Wright into the team from the start and use him on the left wing – where he’s been effective in the past – and move Ephron Mason-Clark to the left – where it feels like there’s no reason why he can’t be effective even if he hasn’t been yet. A return to fitness for Victor Torp could allow Lampard to move either Jack Rudoni or Josh Eccles to the right wing. Alternatively, Kai Andrews could be in contention for a first league start after some decent cameos out wide throughout the season.

Getting through the Ipswich Town game with none of Bobby Thomas, Liam Kitching or Jay Dasilva picking up a yellow was a significant boost, meaning they can play without fear of picking up a suspension. Something which could perhaps explain the recent defensive weakness in a game where surely the team will be targeting a first clean sheet in a while.

Last Time We Met

For all the talk of Coventry City’s dreadful record away at Preston North End, it hasn’t been much better on home turf. February’s 2-1 win at the CBS Arena was Coventry’s first home win against Lilywhites in 12 years, and the first in the league in 18.

Coventry had already peppered Preston North End’s goal with shots before Jack Rudoni rose highest to flick in an Ephron Mason-Clark to put the home side ahead at the half-hour mark. It was two shortly after, when Bobby Thomas was left completely free from a corner-kick to power a header in.

Coventry were in complete control for the rest of the game, creating multiple chances to add some deserved gloss to the final score. In the end, they were left to sweat on the final result, when Preston belatedly manufactured a chance for Will Keane to bundle past Oliver Dovin.

The Opposition

The Manager – Paul Heckingbottom

Having taken over very early in an indifferent campaign last season, Paul Heckingbottom could easily have carried the can for Preston continuing to tread water in the Championship. Instead, the manager’s willingness to hold the ownership’s feet over the coals in order to freshen up the squad bought him some buy-in from fans, which has been rewarded with a strong start to this season.

While it hasn’t been a complete overhaul at Preston North End compared to recent seasons, there seems a fresh energy about the team. An injection of pace and enthusiasm in a few key areas has changed the vibe of Preston from a side that plays safe, calculated football to one that is a little more entertaining. It could be argued that it is more vibes than tangible improvement from North End, aided by some positive early results, but they look a team capable of doing much more than grinding out results these days.

Who To Look Out For?

A key area of improvement for Preston North End this season has been an injection of pace and creativity in the final third. While the powerful and quick Montenegrin striker, Milutin Osmajic is suspended for this game, North End possess a coterie of quick and creative attacking players on loan from Premier League clubs.

Lewis Dobbin leads this charge, with the loanee Aston Villa forward starting to come into his own after a slew of temporary spells – as well as having been traded from Everton 18 months ago as part of some FFP chicanery. Pacey but with a touch of physicality and technical quality to him, Dobbin is starting to find an end product and is becoming an incredibly dangerous player as either a wide forward or second striker. Tottenham youngster, Alfie Devine, is another who has matured after a series of underwhelming loan spells, operating as the number ten and offering a nice combination of industry and moments of skill. The energetic Harrison Armstrong in midfield is another smart piece of business, on loan from Everton, to energise a solid Preston side. Daniel Jebbison is another pacey loan player, from Bournemouth, but has been somewhat inconsistent.

Those loanees have allowed Preston North End’s permanent summer signings to settle into the team nicely and energised the existing players. Players like Stefan Thordarson and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen who were signed in recent years as investments now are not solely relied upon to provide the team’s attacking threat and are all the more dangerous as a result. Experienced additions like Pol Valentin at right wing-back and Michael Smith at centre-forward have been made to look like smart pieces of business because of the enthusiasm around them.

At the back, the typical Preston North End formula of having experienced, smart defenders who can really dig-in has also been boosted with some younger, quality additions. Whether it’s the pacey, versatile Odel Offiah at right-back/centre-back, the flying left wing-back, Thierry Small, or the shot-stopping brilliance of Daniel Iversen, players like Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay and defensive midfielder, Ben Whiteman, look all the better with some freshness around them.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Preston North End offer a combination of physicality, pace and energy that will make them an especially trying test for a midweek away game where Coventry City seem to have at least one or two tired legs among their ranks. Danger areas are Preston’s comfort in defending set-pieces and their possession of quick forward players who can exploit Coventry’s high defensive line.

If the aim is to stem the leaking at the back, avoiding Preston playing balls over the top for Lewis Dobbin to make use of looks a primary concern here. Having Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Victor Torp back in order to inject the team with energy in midfield will be important to avoid Matt Grimes having to do all of the defensive work in the middle. Additionally, there’s clearly work to do for Bobby Thomas, Liam Kitching and Carl Rushworth in co-ordinating how they deal with balls over the top if and when they happen, with the trio having looked slack against Ipswich in such scenarios last time out.

It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Frank Lampard set the team up to play on the break in this game, testing Preston’s ability to play through them and avoiding presenting an exploitable high defensive line. Just where the pace is on the counter-attack is a concern if Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is not available to play in this game, with the Japan winger and Brandon Thomas-Asante having been such an essential part of Coventry’s ability to break quickly this season. Ephron Mason-Clark will have a big role to play in carrying the team up the pitch, along with Ellis Simms’ inconsistent hold-up play.

In what could be a tight game, Preston’s strength at defending set-pieces will again force Coventry City to have to try and make the breakthrough in open play. As much as Victor Torp’s possible return to fitness would improve Coventry’s dead-ball threat, it would be useful to know this team can break down teams in other ways.