Sideways Sammy

A thumping home win against Newcastle United last week has provided the statement moment Frank Lampard and his team were looking for in proving they can compete at this level. If that can be backed up with more points over the next month or so, the Sky Blues have a chance to build up a buffer between themselves and the relegation zone.

An away trip to a winless Tottenham Hotspur side comes with all the pressure on the home team. While Spurs look ready to click into gear, there will be a desperation to get a result which could play into Coventry City’s favour here. Although, there has to be a wariness that the very same desperation could make the home side all the more determined to fight their way to victory.

Expected Line-Up

With Frank Lampard playing a curve-ball last time out in starting Sidiki Cherif up front and switching to a back four, it makes predicting what he does here all the more difficult.

The sensible approach would probably be returning to a back three for the extra defensive solidity. With Ephron Mason-Clark failing to impress last time out on the left, it makes the decision to take him out and bring Stephen Mfuni a pretty straightforward one if Coventry want to go to three at the back.

There’s a big decision over what to do with Taiwo Awoniyi, after his suspension has come to an end. While Sidiki Cherif won a penalty and scored a fantastic goal last time out, he showed inexperience in struggling to compete with the opposing centre-backs. It makes sense to bring in the more experienced Awoniyi for an away game where the Sky Blues could see little of the ball, but Cherif has the advantage of showing he’s perhaps a greater goal threat than Awoniyi.

The other big call is in central midfield, where Caleb Yirenkyi had a game of both good and bad moments against Newcastle United. For the occasional brilliance Yirenkyi is capable of, perhaps the bright lights and sense of occasion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium might make him more prone to errors, that could see Frank Onyeka favoured.

Last Time We Met

Tottenham Hotspur are one of the few Premier League sides that Coventry City have played a couple of times during their top-flight exile, having been drawn against them twice in cup competitions. The most recent meeting coming in the League Cup just over two years ago, where a second-string Sky Blues side caused more than a few problems for a Spurs team beginning a poor spell under Ange Postecoglou’s management.

Haji Wright really should have put Coventry City ahead in the second-half when calamitous Spurs defending sent him clean through on goal, only to produce a tame finish. It didn’t seem to matter when Norman Bassette pulled out wide to tee up Brandon Thomas-Asante for a tap-in to hand Coventry a deserved lead.

The Sky Blues were ultimately punished for not putting the game out of sight, when James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski came on and turned the game in Spurs’ favour. Kulusevski sent Djed Spence through to level the scores with two minutes left, before Brennan Johnson was sent through on goal in stoppage time to secure what was an unlikely win for the away side.

Key Questions

Have Tottenham Hotspur Been Unlucky Or Not Very Good?

Having been one of the big six teams for much of the past 10-15 years, Tottenham have finished in the bottom-half in back-to-back seasons despite having one of the most expensively assembled squads in the division. There remains a sense that Spurs should be doing much better but the longer it lasts, the more the question has to be asked as to whether they remain an elite club.

Roberto De Zerbi was appointed towards the end of last season at great cost and kept them in the Premier League on the final day. The Italian has made sweeping changes to the squad, adding more experience to what had been a fairly young team. While Spurs have been better than their current record suggests, there is still a gap to bridge from where they are to challenging for European football.

The Expected Table is probably the most accurate reflection of where Spurs are currently. They are clearly better than being in the bottom three with zero wins but not necessarily in a significantly better position than they are currently.

For a team that has seen a lot of player turnover during the summer and has a manager relatively new to the job, were they, say, 12th instead of 19th, that might have represented an acceptable start. Spurs are likely to view a home game against Coventry City as one of the best possible opportunities they’ll get to pick up a first win, but the gap between the two teams is nowhere near as big as historic reputations would suggest.

What Is The Balance Between Defensiveness and Passivity?

While Coventry City have gone from averaging over two goals conceded per game to keeping a clean sheet and conceding just one – which was a wonder-strike from a centre-back – over their past two, the Sky Blues are some distance away from being considered defensively secure.

Had it not been for Bobby Thomas’ heroics last week, it would have been a very different game against Newcastle United. Upon reflection, the Sky Blues got their defensive shape all wrong at times, making it far too easy – especially in the first-half – for the opposition to work the ball into scoring positions. Had Newcastle a clinical centre-forward on the pitch, it would have been a very different game.

Coventry seem to have two modes at the moment, pressing almost a little recklessly or completely sitting back with no pressure being put on the ball. The challenge has been in spotting opportunities to press versus leaving gaps to be played through, the Brighton game being a cruel demonstration of what happens when the pressure is wrong.

Perhaps moving a body from attack to defence for this game will help that balance. The worry is that playing a back three plus two in midfield will allow a possession-heavy Spurs side to play the exact game they want. Finding opportunities to stop the opposition building momentum on the ball and finding gaps in the middle of the park feels the key challenge here.

Can The Counter-Attacking Threat Continue?

The big positive over the past two games – aside from the results themselves – has been Coventry discovering a way to threaten on the break, having previously been stuck in slow, stolid build-up play. If the Sky Blues are going to cede possession here, then they have at least shown they can make what little of the ball they get matter.

Jack Rudoni was central to everything Coventry City did well against Newcastle United, seeming to have found another gear to his game after his shoulder surgery in the summer. His combination of physicality, ball-carrying and increasingly inspired flicks and turns makes him awkward for opposing defenders to find one strategy to nullify. The more he is involved in the game, the better for the Sky Blues.

Brandon Thomas-Asante has also had a key role to play in a lower-possession style. While the forward has shortcomings to his game, his desire to run the hard yards and compete for every ball has helped get opposing defences on the back-foot. That scrappiness has been invaluable, making his place in the side over some of the more expensive summer additions justifiable.

The final piece of the equation for this game will come in who starts at centre-forward. Taiwo Awoniyi’s physicality and ability to run the channels could prove invaluable in relieving pressure when the team gets penned in, however, Sidiki Cherif grabbing a goal, winning a penalty and having two further great chances last time out suggests he may have the greater goal threat that may ultimately help Coventry pick up a result here.