Sideways Sammy

A spurring second-half comeback against Leicester City was just Coventry City needed to spur their promotion bid back to life. However, there is little time to bask in an excellent derby victory with the Sky Blues needing to turn that one win into momentum with fellow promotion contenders threatening to breathe down their necks.

Millwall make the trip to the CBS Arena knowing that a win would catapult them firmly into the automatic promotion race. It is a game that Coventry can ill-afford to lose if they want to see the rest of the campaign out in comfort. Against a prodigiously tough team to break down, this is a contest the Sky Blues will have to grind hard in order to get a positive result out of.

Expected Line-Up

For what has felt like the first time in a long time, Frank Lampard was able to pick a line-up based on form rather than availability and that really paid off in the last half hour, when changes were able to be made to move up through the gears and push for the win. A midweek game so soon off the back of that leaves the manager having to make a choice between sticking with what worked against Leicester City or twisting to keep fresh legs and manage Millwall’s threat.

The key decisions lay in attack, where there is the ability to freshen things up but at the risk of upsetting Saturday’s winning formula. There are arguments to be made for and against changing each of the four starting attacking players from the weekend but Frank Lampard may keep his powder dry in order to maintain momentum. The front four that finished the Leicester game, save for Jack Rudoni keeping his place ahead of a recently-returned Brandon Thomas-Asante, seems the sensible move here.

Elsewhere, the big calls are whether to keep Victor Torp and Joel Latibeaudiere in the starting line-up, for differing reasons. Torp is only just back from an injury that kept him out for a few weeks, so it may make sense to manage his workload by bringing Josh Eccles into the team in his place. Latibeaudiere did a decent job against Leicester City but Luke Woolfenden may be favoured here to provide some physicality against a Millwall side with burly centre-forwards and a big set-piece threat.

Possible Coventry City Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Woolfenden, Kitching, Dasilva; Eccles, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright.

Last Time We Met

It was during the early part of that run that supercharged Coventry City to the top of the Championship table that saw the Sky Blues travel to The Den in midweek at the start of October to take on a tough Millwall side. Coventry bossed the first-half and, after being denied a stonewall penalty, took the lead when Brandon Thomas-Asante robbed the ball high up the pitch and teed Haji Wright up for a tap-in.

Millwall came back into the game with a roar in the second-half and had a number of chances to level the scores. Carl Rushworth produced a series of excellent saves to tame the home side’s rally. A Haji Wright header from a brilliant Milan van Ewijk cross killed the game off as a contest, before late goals from Ellis Simms and Kaine Kesler-Hayden put some an almost unnecessary level of gloss on the final score.

The Opposition

The Manager – Alex Neil

The Scot has been quietly going about his business making Millwall into a consistent results-grabbing machine. Alex Neil has overseen a rebuild of Millwall over the past 18 months as they have looked to make the squad younger and able to sustain a push for promotion. Impressively, for all the fresh blood in the squad this still feels like a familiar, trustworthy Millwall outfit.

With a solid defensive unit and some hardworking players further forward, Alex Neil’s team can grind out points with a fair amount of confidence. On top of that, there are a handful of flair players in the final third who are match-winners thanks to that solid platform behind them. That additional flourish that’s been added to this team in recent years makes them even tougher to pin down.

Who To Look Out For?

Millwall’s success this season begins with the defensive foundation laid by the centre-back duo of Caleb Taylor and Jake Cooper, along with Tristan Crama at right-back. The giant, left-footed Cooper has been with Millwall nearly a decade and is a key continuity figure in this squad. Taylor and Crama have proved inspired additions from West Bromwich Albion and Brentford, respectively, to add some younger legs who value the art of defending.

In goal, Millwall have struggled with injuries this season with first-choice Lukas Jensen having missed the entirety of the campaign thus far and his replacement, Steven Benda, struggling for both fitness and form. In their stead, Max Crocombe has stepped up from being a lower league stalwart into a first-choice Championship goalkeeper, capable of pulling off some great saves.

In front of the defence, Billy Mitchell has been something of a revelation this season. The academy produced midfielder had seemed to have fallen out of the reckoning in recent years, but his energy and determination in the tackle have been highly valued by Alex Neil to make him one of the first names on the team-sheet. He provides the platform for Casper De Norre alongside him to offer quality on the ball, along with the other attacking players.

In the final third, Femi Azeez and Camiel Neghli are the star turns of this Millwall side with the individual quality to win games on their own. Azeez is a pacey and skilful winger with a real eye for goal, while Neghli plays in the number ten role and is capable of both frustrating and exciting depending on his mood. Thierno Ballo and Aidomo Emakhu also offer excitement out wide.

Rounding the team off is Mihailo Ivanovic, who had been linked to some big clubs after a decent first season in the Championship last year. The Serbian target-man has struggled for goals this time around but is still preferred for his link play, with Josh Coburn used off the bench for his energy and finishing ability against tired defences.

Possible Millwall Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Crocombe; Crama, Taylor, Cooper, Doughty; Mitchell, De Norre; Emakhu, Neghli, Azeez; Coburn.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This is going to be another game that will test Coventry City’s ability to defend teams with a big counter-attacking threat. Millwall are likely to set-up to allow the Sky Blues to have plenty of the ball, before looking to break quickly through the pace and skill they have in wide areas. Coventry will need to move the ball quickly in attack to avoid Milwall’s defence settling, while the midfield and defence are going to have to be switched on to balls played in behind.

This is going to be stern inspection of Matt Grimes and whoever partners him in the middle to use the ball well and to break up the opposition’s attacking play. While Coventry have looked effective with the ball for much of this recent run, it is the defensive side of the midfield that has looked sloppy. This was corrected in the second-half against Leicester City by getting Grimes and Victor Torp (then, Josh Eccles, later on) to play further forward to support the team’s pressing game. This will need to be maintained to stop Millwall playing dangerous balls into their attacking players.