Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Championship clash between Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking to record back-to-back victories in order to get their playoff ambitions on track, Coventry City will host Plymouth Argyle at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Tuesday night.
The Sky Blues halted a worrying run of form with a convincing success at Millwall on the weekend, whilst the Green Army continued their stellar home record by beating Sunderland.
Match preview
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Following a six-game winless spell in the Championship which stretched across October and November, Coventry supporters were understandably worrying whether they would be able to seriously challenge for the top six this term, however Saturday’s 3-0 thumping of Millwall has eased concerns slightly.
Mark Robins‘s men produced a perfect away display at The Den to hand Joe Edwards his maiden loss as Lions boss, with Matt Godden, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and midfielder Ben Sheaf all getting onto the scoresheet for the visitors as they earned only their fourth win of the season.
With the departures of Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer leaving massive holes in the squad, the Sky Blues have struggled to continue their momentum from a marvelous fifth-placed finish last term, meaning they are currently 20th in the second-tier table, nine points off Preston North End in sixth.
A glaring issue for Coventry has been their inability to regularly pick up three points at the CBS Arena, with last campaign’s playoff finalists sharing the spoils five times in eight home league matches to date, although they have only been defeated on their own patch once.
The Sky Blues have abandoned their back-five formation in recent matches in favour of a flat four across the backline, and the decision of Robins has paid dividends defensively in recent matches, with Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching helping Bradley Collins keep successive clean sheets.
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Plymouth’s commendable record at Home Park continued on Saturday afternoon, with the Green Army grinding out a 2-0 win over Tony Mowbray‘s Sunderland, meaning the Devon-based club have now collected 16 points in nine home Championship matches since the beginning of the term.
The League One champions landed their fatal blows in the opening period – first former Swansea City winger Morgan Whittaker unleashed an unwavering strike past Anthony Patterson, before Finn Azaz netted his fourth of the season to double the advantage of the hosts, who held on valiantly in the second half despite pressure from the Black Cats.
With Steven Schumacher praising the performance of Whittaker and naming the 22-year-old as one of the best players in the Championship, the performance of midfielder Luke Cundle went slightly under the radar, as the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee provided assists for both of the goals.
The Green Army do not have ambitions back-to-back promotions comparable to their fellow recently-promoted counterparts Ipswich Town, with Argyle’s primary mission in 2023-24 being to avoid an immediate return to League One, and Schumacher’s men sit 19th in the league table, seven points above 22nd-placed Rotherham United.
Having collected just three points from eight Championship away matches since returning from the third tier, Plymouth are keenly aware that improving their away form could make surviving in this division a formality considering their effectivness at Home Park, however Tuesday’s visitors have lost on both of their last two visits to Coventry.
Coventry City Championship form:
Plymouth Argyle Championship form:
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Team News
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Coventry have welcomed back long-term absentees Fabio Tavares and Kasey Palmer to first-team training in recent times, with the pair continuing to recover from Achilles and groin issues respectively.
Callum O’Hare returned to action with some substitute appearances for the Sky Blues before the international break, however Robins is erring on the side of caution over handing the player a starting place considering that the creative midfielder has been sidelined for so long.
Ben Wilson has seemingly lost his title as first-choice goalkeeper after a shaky start to the term, and centre-back Kyle McFadzean will join the stopper on the bench having fallen victim to Coventry’s move to a back four.
Plymouth are sweating over the fitness of left-back Mickel Miller who missed out of the win over Sunderland due to a groin injury, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden on his unnatural side in defence.
With Ryan Hardie out of action until next month due to a hamstring issue, New Zealand international Ben Waine could continue in the starting XI after scoring his first Championship goal at Leeds United earlier in the month.
Brendan Galloway made his first appearance for the Green Army on the weekend since sustaining a serious injury against Shrewsbury Town in League One in April, and the 27-year-old could be in line for a start on Tuesday night.
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Collins; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Bidwell; Eccles, Sheaf, Allen; Sakamoto, Wright, Godden
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Edwards, Pleguezuelo, Gibson, Kesler-Hayden; Cundle, Houghton, Azaz; Whittaker, Mumba, Waine
We say: Coventry City 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
Coventry produced one of their best performances of the campaign to date at The Den, however the Sky Blues have struggled to converts draws into wins at the CBS Arena.
Plymouth have failed to win an away game this season but have asked questions on visits to Leeds and Ipswich recently, and we expect the Green Army to earn a point in the East Midlands.
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