Coventry City will be looking to get their play-off push back on track on Wednesday night when they entertain relegation battlers Portsmouth at the CBS Arena.
The Sky Blues head into the Championship clash with the confidence of just two league defeats on home soil under Frank Lampard whose side face a travel sick Pompey team who have managed just two wins on the road all season.
City’s home record might well have been even better had it not been for poor defending for both Burnley goals at the weekend, making the 2-1 defeat against the automatic promotion chasing Clarets all the more frustrating. With that in mind, we wait to see whether the head coach will decide to make changes to his back five for the midweek match.
The one position that has been the subject of much comment among the fans is in goal where Brad Collins put himself in the spotlight for both goals but particularly his mix-up with Liam Kitching for the second. The former Chelsea prospect was chosen to replace Oliver Dovin when he suffered his ACL injury at Sheffield United and acquitted himself well with a couple of decent saves, but was heavily criticised by supporters against the Clarets.
It begs the question, then, whether Lampard will keep faith with the keeper or hand Ben Wilson his first chance to impress since the head coach’s arrival.
Kitching was, to be fair to Collins, equally culpable for what turned out to be Burnley’s winner but whether he loses his place to Luis Binks or Joel Latibeaudiere remains to be seen, although Kitching and Bobby Thomas arguably remain City’s strongest central defensive partnership on paper.
Milan van Ewijk will continue at right-back where the Dutchman made impressive use of his long throw into the box on a number of occasions at the weekend, while Jake Bidwell could come in for Jay Dasilva on the left.
Matt Grimes made an extremely rare mistake in the build-up to Burnley’s opener but remains one of Lampard’s most effective defensive midfielders. Jack Rudoni came through his first 90 minutes since returning from a dislocated shoulder and is usually one of the first names on the teamsheet. However, who completes the midfield three is open to debate, with Victor Torp, Jamie Allen and Ben Sheaf competing to start against Pompey, while Josh Eccles continues to be sidelined with a slight calf injury.
The front three, meanwhile, has been the same for the last three games with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron Mason-Clark deployed on the flanks either side of leading scorer Haji Wright. Ellis Simms is the only available striker to provide back-up at a time when Norman Bassette (knee) and Brandon Thomas-Asante (pelvis) are out injured, while the lesser used Jamie Paterson and Raphael are also attacking options.
Predicted City team: Ben Wilson; Milan van Ewijk, Bobby Thomas, Liam Kitching, Jake Bidwell; Victor Torp, Matt Grimes, Jack Rudoni; Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Haji Wright, Ephron Mason-Clark.
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