Sideways Sammy

Another away day collapse has really escalated the pressure on Coventry City’s home form as they look to hold onto an automatic promotion place. With the transfer window closed, the focus is now on which of the players in the building can form the unit that can carry Coventry back into the top flight. A convincing win against a relegation-threatened Oxford United would be a good first step towards recalibrating the Sky Blues’ season.

The Oxford travel to Coventry needing a win to avoid getting cut adrift in the relegation zone. After a busy January involving multiple transfers and a new manager, the U’s have fresh inspiration but are also figuring themselves out. This is the kind of game a team gunning for promotion fully takes advantage of to strengthen their position at the top.

Expected Line-Up

Coventry City have added Frank Onyeka since the Queens Park Rangers game but are possibly down an Ephron Mason-Clark, who limped off at Loftus Road with an injury. Unlike earlier in the season, Frank Lampard is blessed with options with which to replace the winger should he be out but picking the right one for this and the next home game could be decisive in how the team’s season goes.

Mason-Clark has made himself a crucial player for the team in recent months with his ability to secure possession in the final third and produce telling deliveries in open play. That Coventry City struggled so much to create once Mason-Clark left the pitch last week felt a worrying sign of the potential impact of his absence. Romain Esse is the favourite to step into the left wing berth, with Yang Min-hyeok looking very raw and Janoah Markelo preferring to play on the right and seeming to be short of match fitness, with his last competitive appearance having been in November.

Frank Onyeka is another potential fitness doubt given that he hasn’t featured for Brentford since returning from the African Cup of Nations in mid-January, so may not be thrown in straight from the start. Instead, Victor Torp is likely to take Josh Eccles’ place next to Matt Grimes in midfield to add some passing and shooting quality against a team Coventry should dominate possession against.

Elsewhere, there is talk about radical selection decisions, such as starting Haji Wright on the left wing, dropping Liam Kitching and Bobby Thomas, or changing tactics entirely, but that is highly unlikely. Frank Lampard clearly has a preference to play a settled line-up and in a 4-2-3-1 shape. Furthermore, Coventry have only dropped points at home three times this season, so there’s little reason to react to poor away performances by shaking up the formula at the CBS.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City really should have walked out of their trip to the Kassam Stadium back in August with all three points. The Sky Blues dominated early on against Oxford United, with Haji Wright being allowed far too much time and space to finish past Jamie Cumming to score in the 12th minute. However, any positive attacking play was undermined by sloppy defending. Summed up by Carl Rushworth parrying a free-kick directly into the path of Will Lankshear to level not long after the opening goal.

An excellent Victor Torp free-kick put a Coventry side playing some excellent football back in the lead before half-time. However, standards slipped in the second-half, Oxford got in behind repeatedly, with Cameron Brannagan eventually scoring from a free-kick of his own – with the Sky Blues wall failing to spot the midfielder moving the ball just before he took the set-piece to completely undermine their placement. Haji Wright then missed a glorious chance late on to grab a winning goal.

The Opposition

The Manager – Matt Bloomfield

A man who is in danger of developing a reputation for having had more jobs than any tangible periods of success as a manager, Matt Bloomfield was given the Oxford United job in January after the club decided to part ways with Gary Rowett. Bloomfield has had a tendency to struggle to make an immediate impact in his previous jobs – he would have kept Luton up last season had he produced their end of season form just a few weeks earlier – and after an unbeaten start at the Kassam Stadium, has lost his past two games.

With the urgency of Oxford United’s league position starting to increase, Matt Bloomfield is trying to create a siege mentality at the club as quickly as possible, looking to unite fans and players with a battling style of play. Oxford look more energetic and combative than they did under Gary Rowett but they still lack the quality that is hard to get when you have one of the lowest budgets in the division. Another couple of losses and Bloomfield’s early efforts at the Kassam Stadium could all be for nought.

Who To Look Out For?

Oxford United have attempted to build a squad in the Championship of artisans at the back and artists further forward. Having had three managers in around 18 months, there is a sense of imbalance among their ranks, epitomised by currently having seven loan players on the books.

The set-up is likely to be to attempt to be solid at the back before hitting Coventry on the counter with their pacey and skilful attacking players. Jamie Cumming is a solid presence in goal, with a battling defensive trio of Michal Helik, Ciaron Brown plus recent addition, Christ Makosso, in front of him. At wing-back, Oxford are likely to play defensive-minded players, with Brodie Spencer on one wing and either Sam Long – who can play at centre-back – on the right or the pacey Ruben Roosken on the left, with Spencer switching sides.

With Will Vaulks an experienced player who is possibly past his best tending to operate as the team’s defensive midfielder, it’s a choice between pairing him with a younger, combative player like Jamie McDonnell or Yunus Konak, or the more attacking but less disciplined Cameron Brannagan. Brannagan could either be dropped or played in a more advanced role as Oxford look to keep it tight at the CBS Arena.

Oxford United are blessed with a whole bunch of attacking midfield and wide players but few who are reliable match-winners at Championship level. The rangy Miles Peart-Harris and pacey Przemyslaw Placheta have been preferred of late, while Oxford also have the direct running of Stan Mills to introduce, as well as Ole Romeny and Siriki Dembele who are theoretically talented but haven’t really applied it in their time with the club.

Up front, the burly Will Lankshear has put up a commendable effort for a young player in an early loan spell in a poor team in leading the line. Possessed with great strength and energy, Lankshear already gave Liam Kitching and Bobby Thomas a tough time in the reverse fixture, even if he has struggled for goals. Alternatively, the hard-running but less physically pre-possessing Mark Harris can trouble defenders with his work-rate.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

The challenge for Coventry City in this game will be to break down a side coming to the CBS Arena to shut up shop, something that hasn’t really been asked of this team much this season with most teams at this level tending to want to take the game to the Sky Blues, with Cov’s set-piece threat helping to stymie any opposition periods of sitting in. Unless Coventry are able to grab something from a set-piece or long throw, this could be a test of patience and committing bodies forward without the reckless abandon that has been seen recently.

In terms of Oxford United’s threat, they will look to use Will Lankshear as their out-ball, with Przemyslaw Placheta using his pace to make runs beyond him to his right. That will directly target the weak left side of Coventry City’s defence, with Matt Grimes, Liam Kitching and Jay Dasilva all looking to be in poor form, making basic errors with their positioning or decision-making in the challenge.

Going forward, Coventry will have to avoid the slow, aimless play they produced against Queens Park Rangers last week. The potential absence of Ephron Mason-Clark is a concern as someone who can provide cutting edge in tight spaces in open play. Moving the ball quickly into the forwards, as well as Romain Esse and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto beating their man and finding a final pass will be key here.