Sideways Sammy

Promotion secured and the league won, the only thing left to do is to lift the trophy. Coventry City now face two games with nothing riding on them, other than the remote chance to equal or beat the club’s record for league goals in a season – 98. This is a moment to sit back, relax and bask in the success that this campaign has been for the Sky Blues, before thoughts inevitably turn towards how to compete under the global eye of the Premier League.

Coventry host a Wrexham side looking to hold onto the last play-off position and will thus be in no mood to keep up the party atmosphere at the CBS Arena. The big question heading into this game is how much motivation and squad rotation there will be. As much as no-one wants the season to end on a bum note in front of a home crowd, it’s natural that standards might not be as high as they’d otherwise be, especially when facing a highly-motivated opponent battling for any point they can get.

Expected Line-Up

Frank Lampard has said that he will use the final two games of the season to give minutes to fringe players. Just how weak that will make the team he puts out for this match remains to be seen. A completely rotated side could make for a sour mood for the last home game of the season against a highly motivated Wrexham team. It’s likely to be a case of mix and match between first choice and the second-string, looking to avoid a complete walkover for the away team.

There’s probably four players specifcally who could be in line for a rare start here; namely, Luke Woolfenden, Jake Bidwell, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Jamie Allen. On top of that, there is a debate as to whether to hand Ben Wilson a rare run-out in goal, which could truly define whether this match is treated as a glorified friendly or the team is still looking to enhance records that have already been set.

Elsewhere, it feels as if Victor Torp’s cameo on Tuesday night could have been enough to play him into the starting line-up ahead of a jaded Frank Onyeka. Additionally, Haji Wright and Jack Rudoni may start to see their minutes tapered down for the final two games as Frank Lampard looks to avoid any injuries that could disrupt pre-season preparations.

Last Time We Met

Coventry City had been unbeaten heading to their Friday night trip to Wrexham in October. Despite taking the lead, the Sky Blues were far from convincing and were eventually punished by a Kieffer Moore hat-trick in the second-half. Playing a back-line that featured Luke Woolfenden, Jake Bidwell, and Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Moore repeatedly exploited a lack of familiarity by seizing on loose marking – from Woolfenden in particular – to put the game out of sight.

A lovely Tatsuhiro Sakamoto strike late on counted for naught, with Coventry simply having slipped too far into complacency for much of the game to put the final result in any doubt.

The Opposition

The Manager – Phil Parkinson

It turns out if a manager is afforded both time and loads of money, they can make a decent fist of getting a team to continually adapt to new leagues. There had been some questions heading into the campaign that, despite the resources, Phil Parkinson may find himself tactically out of his depth against a higher class of opponent in the Championship. However, Wrexham are firmly in the play-off race as a result of Parkinson bringing in a load of vastly-experienced second-tier players.

The template this season for Wrexham is to play on the front-foot at home and then completely sit back away from home to battle for points. Depending on Saturday’s results, they will either be looking to hold onto a play-off spot ahead of a final day game against Middlesbrough or to reclaim it, which may force them to play in a more enterprising manner. Nonetheless, expect them to be physical and looking to spoil the game if they get their nose in front.

Who To Look Out For?

Wrexham’s push for the play-offs has been fueled by the goals of Championship veterans, Kieffer Moore and Josh Windass. With Moore injured lately – though he has been fit enough for the bench in recent games – Windass has largely picked up the goalscoring mantle. Operating just behind the centre-forward, Windass is someone who will shoot at just about any and every opportunity, which has proven rather succesful for him lately.

Backing up that experienced duo is Nathan Broadhead, who can float into attacking areas just behind the striker and nick goals. While Sam Smith has stepped into Kieffer Moore’s place as the team’s target man and done a good job with his energy and hold-up play to make sure that the latter’s absence hasn’t been too keenly felt.

The supply line into the attack largely comes from the wing-back positions. Issa Kabore on the right and George Thomason on the left have generally been the preferred duo, with Kabore a real presence with his physicality and pace, with Ryan Longman a more othodox winger who can offers a more attacking option on either side.

In midfield, Wrexham boast a glut of solid, experienced players who work hard and can impose themselves physically on the game. Even with Ben Sheaf injured, Matty James and George Dobson keep things study and combative, allowing for either Ollie Rathbone or Lewis O’Brien to push forward.

At the back, Callum Doyle’s passing has been a huge part of Wrexham’s ability to threaten going from back to front quickly. He’s backed up by the physicality and nous of Dan Scarr and Dominic Hyam, with academy graduate, Max Cleworth, another battler to bring into the mix.

In goal, Wrexham have reverted to the calamity-prone Danny Ward of late, having seen the performances of Arthur Okonkwo become a little erratic despite the big saves he can make at his very best.

Where The Game Will Be Won Or Lost

Coventry City’s motivation and level of squad rotation will be a long way towards defining how this game will go. Wrexham are likely to set up to keep things tight early and then look to chase a result as the game goes on. That could feed into a muted home atmosphere as fans await the trophy lift that could well suit the away side. It is Coventry’s job here to take advantage of Wrexham’s desperation for a result and pick off any gaps they leave looking to win the game.

A key factor is going to be how familiar Coventry City’s backline is, with it probably being the most likely area Frank Lampard would make changes to if he’s of a mind to hand starts to fringe players. The last meeting with Wrexham saw how unsettling it can be to throw three out of four in a back-line in front the cold and it will be a strong indication of how bothered both the manager and team is about the final result how many changes are made in that area. Wrexham’s physicality and work-rate in the final third will be very hard for an unfamiliar back-line to deal with.

At the other end, Wrexham’s defence is slow and they have a goalkeeper who is prone to making silly mistakes. If Coventry can keep the game scoreless or score the first goal, there will be gaps to take advantage of as Wrexham chase the result. Specifically, there should be room for the likes of Ephron Mason-Clark, Haji Wright and Brandon Thomas-Asante to seize upon. The latter of whom seems well-suited to start on the right in order to make darting runs in behind to stretch the opposing defence.