Sideways Sammy

A fourth win in a row has cemented Coventry City’s position at the top of the league, with four games to go until the final international break of the season and the official start of the run-in. Another nine points on the board before then would put the Sky Blues at the 80-point milestone, likely needing just a couple of wins to secure promotion before the pressure really starts to heat up. As good as this recent run has been, extending it over the next three weeks will be the difference between a comfortable end to the season and a stressful one.

Coventry travel to Bristol City for a fixture that had looked unlikely up until Tuesday, with the Robins unexpectedly defeated in the FA Cup at League One’s bottom team and thus avoiding this match being rescheduled. While Bristol City were not quite at full-strength, the defeat will sting nonetheless. Needing to pick up wins to keep up their play-off hopes, the Sky Blues will have to be wary here of taking on an opponent with a point to prove.

Expected Line-Up

Frank Lampard has made just one change to the starting XI over the past four games, that being Romain Esse coming in for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto for the Stoke City game. It’s clear the manager has settled on a line-up and with the form so good at the moment, it’s hard to picture why he would mix things up for now – aside from bringing Sakamoto back into the XI.

The only doubt is what condition Frank Onyeka is in after limping off against Stoke City. The midfielder’s physicality has been essential in stiffening up the team’s defensive resolve and it would be a big blow to lose him for an away game, given that the Sky Blues have only started winning on the road again since Onyeka was signed. Victor Torp could come in for the Nigerian if he is not fully fit – or needs to be saved for the week ahead.

With another three game week coming up, changes may soon be part of the manager’s thinking as he looks to avoid tiredness setting into the squad. This next set of fixtures is probably where the value of adding depth in January will come to light. Don’t be surprised to see the likes of Romain Esse, Josh Eccles, Victor Torp and Brandon Thomas-Asante making contributions over the coming matches.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City put in a laboured performance at home to an energetic Bristol City side back in December but came out victorious thanks to the team’s prowess from set-pieces. Ephron Mason-Clark was on hand to poke in from inches out after Bristol City failed to fully clear a corner-kick.

The Robins pushed for a late equaliser, only for Carl Rushworth to pull off an excellent save from Sinclair Armstrong to earn his clean sheet and a valuable three points that kept Coventry City miles clear at the top of the Championship.

The Opposition

The Manager – Gerhard Struber

The Austrian has cut a frustrated figure after a positive start to life at Ashton Gate, with the club having to sell key players heading out of contract and offering little by means to replace them. A play-off bid is in danger of fizzling out, with the Robins frustratingly inconsistent thanks to a relatively thin squad that is arguably short of the x-factor required to win tight games regularly.

Struber, who managed Barnsley to reasonable success at this level around five years ago, has looked to implement a high-energy style at Bristol City which has made them an exciting team to watch at their best, but has lacked the resources to sustain it. While there remains a chance of making the top six, the Robins rank mid-table for just about every key metric imaginable, underlining that it’s either going to take investment in the summer or fresh ideas to make up that gap to the play-offs.

Who To Look Out For?

Losing top-scorer, Anis Mehmeti, to Ipswich Town in January has gone some way to curtailing Bristol City’s top six hopes, while key defender, Zak Vyner was also sold to prevent him leaving on a free in the summer. In light of having attained a sell-on fee for Antoine Semenyo two months ago, it’s easy to understand why there is frustration at a sense of scaling down at Ashton Gate with few identifiable stand-out names among what is an honest and hard-working squad.

The closest thing to a star for Bristol City is Scott Twine, whose shooting from set-pieces is almost unparalleled outside the Premier League. However, he has a tendency to float in and out of games. Instead, much of the Robins’ build-up play is centred around utilising the aerial threat of Ross McCrorie from wing-back.

In midfield, Adam Randell, Jason Knight and Max Bird are all very consistent performers at this level who give the team a solid platform to build around. Similarly, Mark Sykes at wing-back and players like Cameron Pring and George Tanner in defence have proved very reliable for a basic level of performance.

Emil Riis is the team’s top-scorer, acting as a classic penalty area poacher who requires service in order to thrive. Sinclair Armstrong and Delano Burgzorg are the team’s two potential wildcards, who have very impressive physical attributes but whose outputs can be wildly inconsistent.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Bristol City have a shortage of fit defenders, which surely makes Coventry City’s best approach of this game to be to look to play on the front foot and attempt to pick through the gaps in their back-line. If the Sky Blues can deal with the aerial ability of Ross McCrorie at left-back, they should be able to limit Bristol City’s attacking threat and keep up the forward pressure.

If the Robins can be contained in open play, the only danger left is Scott Twine’s shooting ability from free-kicks. As long as Coventry City can be careful about not conceding set-pieces in shooting positions, then they should have little to worry about unless Bristol City come out with a point to prove after this week’s FA Cup defeat to Port Vale.

Key to the Sky Blues’ attacking threat will be the movement of the front-line, looking to commit Bristol City defenders and run into the space that opens up. Haji Wright is capable of creating chaos with his running in behind, with Ephron Mason-Clark another danger in that regard. Jack Rudoni will have an important role to play in playing the balls into the forwards to get them into space, where he’ll have to release the ball a little quicker than he tends to in order to avoid Bristol City sitting in.