Sideways Sammy

A somewhat unfortunate defeat at home to Southampton last weekend was mitigated by results elsewhere going in Coventry City’s favour but it served as a reminder that there’s still work to do to secure promotion. A run of three games against teams in the play-off race will put this team’s credentials under inspection, albeit in the knowledge that there’s some room for error given the teams directly below the Sky Blues are set to take points off each other during the upcoming period.

It begins with a trip to a Swansea City side that have one of the best home records in the division and know that they must win this game or fall out of the play-off race entirely. With the occasion charged up by the return of their former captain, Matt Grimes, Coventry will have to be wary of facing a highly motivated opponent and will need to match their intensity levels to get a positive result.

Expected Line-Up

An injury to Haji Wright adds another big name to Coventry City’s list of absentees, albeit, with all of them looking set to return the other side of Easter. For the immediate term, however, Frank Lampard will have to manage a squad short of its first-choice centre-back, attacking midfielder and centre-forward, calling on the depth that has been added over the past year or so.

The big decisions look to be in the number ten position and centre-back as Lampard tries to find areas of improvement on last week’s home defeat. Starting Josh Eccles in the advanced role he’s been used in for much of this season was meant to keep things tight in the middle of the park, however, the midfielder offered very little either side of the ball, enough that it may make it worth playing the more attack-minded Brandon Thomas-Asante in there anyway to add more oomph to Coventry’s forward forays.

At the back, neither Luke Woolfenden nor Liam Kitching have disgraced themselves over the past two games but there remains a sense that neither are fully convincing in their roles. There is hope that Bobby Thomas could be fit enough to start this game, which would surely see him swoop in for Luke Woolfenden’s place, but there may be a temptation anyway to start Joel Latibeaudiere in either centre-back role, who’s been in better form of late.

Elsewhere, Ellis Simms will take Haji Wright’s place at centre-forward and there shouldn’t be any change elsewhere. With an international break the other side of this fixture, any concerns over rotating the line-up for fitness reasons seem minimal.

Last Time We Met

Ephron Mason-Clark swept home a long throw into the roof of the net to give Coventry City a first-half lead on Boxing Day against a Swansea City side who caused them more than a few problems as the Sky Blues nervily saw out a 1-0 win.

Things could well have been different had Liam Cullen put his shooting boots on, missing a sitter for the away side at the CBS Arena early in the second-half. Coventry held on for what proved to be a rare win amid a wobble that set in over the following month.

The Opposition

The Manager – Vitor Matos

The Portuguese has proved a really smart piece of managerial recruitment from Swansea City, who brought in the former Liverpool coach as manager back in November, with just 12 games of experience in a senior role – having missed out to Middlesbrough in recruiting Kim Hellberg. Vitor Matos has quickly made Swansea an energetic pressing side who are capable of playing some excellent football, easing away from any relegation danger and putting themselves on the fringes of a play-off challenge.

The biggest issue under Matos thus far has been away form, Swansea have lost eight out of 11 on the road since the Portuguese took over, having lost just one home game over the same period. Even a slight improvement in that record would have the Swans firmly in the play-off conversation. Instead, they require some results against the best teams in the division in their upcoming home games in order to stay in the race.

Who To Look Out For?

Integral to Swansea City’s turnaround under Vitor Matos has been the scoring form of Zan Vipotnik. The Slovenian has emerged from an underwhelming first year in English football to become the division’s top-scorer and is responsible for nearly two-fifths of the team’s league goals this season. A strong physical presence who comes alive in the penalty area, cutting off the service to Vipotnik will be crucial in Coventry claiming a result here.

The other star in Swansea’s team is undoubtedly Ethan Galbraith, who is the team’s key playmaker, operating at right-back. Originally a midfielder, Galbraith has learned how to control games from an inverted right-back position, albeit, at the cost of strong defensive cover in the position.

Filling the Matt Grimes-shaped hole in Swansea City’s midfield is former Coventry City transfer target, Marko Stamenic. The New Zealand international has been a sturdy presence in the middle of the park. He has generally been paired with the combative Goncalo Franco, but with Jay Fulton and Melker Widell offering alternative options, with the exciting box-to-box Malick Yalcouye generally coming off from the bench to pep things up.

At the back, Ben Cabango and Cameron Burgess form a physical centre-back pairing, in front of the athletic Lawrence Vigouroux in goal, who can pull off some absurd saves and is fantastic with the ball at his feet, having shaken off the erratic moments that dogged his early career. At left-back, Josh Tymon’s crossing ability is another key threat that Swansea City possess.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Swansea City’s excellent home record means that Coventry City should probably be treating this game more like a visit to a fellow promotion rival rather than a mid-table team facing their last shot at a play-off tilt. Swansea will look to take the game to the Sky Blues, meaning the focus should be on how Coventry can pose a threat on the counter and take advantage of spaces they leave in behind to try and win the game.

Getting the balance right between sitting in and closing spaces down to avoid Ethan Galbraith dictating the game from right-back will be the key challenge here. Ephron Mason-Clark has an important role to play, not purely defensively but in making the kind of stretching runs in behind that can punish Swansea for playing a non-specialist in that position. The left winger really should have scored more than the one goal in the last meeting between the two sides with how much ease he had getting in behind Galbraith, however, if Mason-Clark doesn’t track back, then the ersatz right-back could really pick holes in Coventry’s defence. That is especially so if Brandon Thomas-Asante starts, risking leaving the Sky Blues’ midfield wide open.

Similarly, on the other flank, taking advantage of Josh Tymon pushing forward to catch Swansea’s defence on the turn could be what turns a defensive-minded performance into a winning one for the Sky Blues.