Sideways Sammy

Two wins on the bounce and results going in Coventry City’s favour has tipped the balance at the top of the table back in a positive direction. The focus cannot be allowed to slip now that the Sky Blues are back in a position take charge of the promotion race. It serves to make a midweek trip to Bramall Lane an important acid test of this newfound belief among the Coventry ranks.

Sheffield United sit just six points off the play-offs, knowing that now is the time to string together a run of form of their own in order to make up that gap. Buoyant after relegating their city rivals, Sheffield Wednesday, at the weekend and with a squad that made the play-off final last year, the Blades will be undeterred by the prospect of taking on the league leaders.

Expected Line-Up

The key decisions heading into this game surround whether it’s better to stick with a settled starting line-up or to rotate the side to avoid fatigue settling in now that Coventry City have a big enough squad in order to do so. That this is the first midweek round in a while may lessen the desire to freshen things up.

Brandon Thomas-Asante is probably the key name to come into the starting XI for this game if changes are made. The forward will be fresh after a couple of weeks out suspended and he offers the kind of rapid pace and work-rate off-the-ball that could be valuable in a tough away game if Coventry want to ease off trying to dominate possession. Jack Rudoni or Tatsuhiro Sakamoto are candidates to drop out to allow Thomas-Asante to come into the team, however, it feels harsh to drop either on form or fitness grounds right now.

Elsewhere, any other changes may be in mind of tactical tweaks for the challenge this game poses. Switching to a back three might be a consideration in order to help soak up pressure but is probably unlikely given that the defence has conceded just one goal in the last three games.

Last Time We Met

Sheffield United came close to frustrating Coventry City at the CBS Arena back in November, taking the lead in the first-half via a set-piece, with Sam McCallum turning in a Ben Mee flick-on. The game seemed to swing on Blades goalkeeper, Michael Cooper, picking up an injury that saw him substituted at half-time as the away team looked to sit in on their lead.

Almost immediately after the break, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was the first to react to a loose ball following a long throw to level the scores. Coventry were ahead around the hour mark, when replacement stopper, Adam Davies, flapped at a corner and Bobby Thomas capitalised. Callum O’Hare threatened to steal a point late-on as the Sky Blues got a little nervy. That was settled in stoppage time, when Jamie Allen picked out Haji Wright clean through on goal, allowing the American to tee up Brandon Thomas-Asante for a tap-in to add gloss to the final score.

The Opposition

The Manager – Chris Wilder

In his third spell at the club, Chris Wilder has gradually turned around a frail mentality at Bramall Lane to get a talented squad pushing for the play-offs. While Sheffield United still hover around mid-table and seem prone to dropping points just when they seem to be stringing some results together, they are starting to perform on the pitch to the talent they have on paper.

The defence has been the key problem area for Sheffield United this season, unable to keep them in games as had been so effective last season following the departures of a couple of key personnel. However, they have some of the best attacking players in the division and that has proved enough most of the time to garner positive results to lift them away from relegation danger.

Who To Look Out For?

One of the headline changes that Chris Wilder has made since his return to Bramall Lane has been in signing Patrick Bamford on a free transfer – with the forward having trained with Coventry City for several weeks and seemingly had an offer in front of him that Doug King balked at. The experienced striker has put a couple of years of torrid goalscoring form behind him to be the leading presence for this Sheffield United side, rediscovering his finishing ability to add to his excellent link play.

Behind Bamford, Callum O’Hare and Gustavo Hamer provide touches of genius that can light up games. O’Hare is enjoying his best-ever goalscoring season, which makes him especially dangerous due to his preternatural ability to ghost into excellent positions in the final third. Hamer, who continues to be used on the left wing, is someone who can produce something out of nothing which is why he has proved effective in a variety of roles during his career.

At the back, Chris Wilder has looked to solve the team’s defensive issues by pairing the pacey Japhet Tanganga with the aerial ability of Tyler Bindon more recently. At left-back, Harrison Burrows has been restored to the team as he looks to supply the quality pushing forward that his defensive shortcomings can hamper. On the right, another attack-minded player, Femi Seriki, had an excellent game last year against Ephron Mason-Clark. In goal, Michael Cooper is a tall presence who can produce big saves, even if his form has dropped since an excellent previous season at the club.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

This has the potential to be a highly-exciting, pulse-racing contest between two teams who are better going forward than they are defensively. Sheffield United have the quality to take advantage of any gaps that Coventry City leave at the back, while being likely to leave plenty of their own that the Sky Blues can look to exploit.

The hope is that Frank Onyeka will provide the physical ballast for Coventry City in order to prevent the likes of Callum O’Hare and Gustavo Hamer picking up space and running rings around the Sky Blues’ back-line. However, it is a big job for one player to cover, thus the likes of Jay Dasilva, Joel Latibeaudiere and Matt Grimes are going to have to be switched-on in their positional play, which can be a little suspect against quality opposing attacks.

At the other end, that Sheffield United lack an out-and-out defensive midfielder, are likely to play two attack-minded full-backs and have a centre-back pairing still figuring each other out should provide opportunities for Coventry City to get in behind them. It is up to the Sky Blues to find balls into the front-line that will take advantage of that space, an area the team were lacking in somewhat during the West Bromwich Albion game.