Coventry City head into the Christmas period in 17th place in the Championship after they were torn apart by Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, but what four things does Frank Lampard have to change ahead of their next league game?
Despite taking the lead inside three minutes through Norman Bassette, after some more excellent wing play from Ephron Mason-Clark, the Sky Blues collapsed to a 4-1 defeat at Fratton Park with Callum Lang stealing the show after scoring all four goals.
The disappointing nature of the defeat continued Coventry City’s defensive woes, with the Sky Blues conceding four goals away from home for the first time since their September 2021 defeat against Luton Town.
With a home fixture against the Championship’s worst-performing away side Plymouth Argyle on the horizon, here are four things Frank Lampard needs to change in the coming days…
Change needed between the sticks
Following the sacking of Mark Robins in November, Coventry City have relied on third-choice goalkeeper Brad Collins and have experienced mixed reviews thus far.
The 27-year-old has conceded 15 goals in his eight league appearances since filling the void after injuries to Ben Wilson and Oliver Dovin. However, the defeat against Portsmouth means that the Sky Blues have now conceded 17 goals from the last 23 shots on target that they’ve faced.
Dovin has been on the bench since returning from his injury, whilst Ben Wilson has almost recovered from his. Summer signing Dovin hasn’t necessarily deserved to be dropped from the starting XI and Wilson currently possesses the most clean sheets of the three keepers so far this season.
Despite Plymouth being a disappointing side away from home thus far, they are highly likely to have chances of their own and following Collins’ disappointing afternoon, Lampard is almost certainly going to make a change in that department.
Reuniting the Barnsley boys
Bobby Thomas has almost self-commanded his starting role for the Sky Blues this season and has been a danger from set pieces, but he was heavily let down against Portsmouth and is likely to be lining up with a new partner ahead of the Boxing Day fixture.
Luis Binks has struggled to help keep clean sheets this season, leaving either Joel Latibeaudiere or Liam Kitching with the opportunity to return to the starting XI.
With Latibeaudiere being a right-sided centre-back, there is likely to be a strong anticipation that Kitching starts next to his former Barnsley teammate Bobby Thomas against Plymouth.
Kitching is a former Barnsley captain and is likely to add some much-needed leadership at the back in what could be considered a ‘must-win fixture’ for Coventry City.
Sorting the left-back situation
Admittedly, Milan Van Ewijk is likely to need a rest having featured in almost every single minute for Coventry City this season but aside from Latibeaudiere or a surprise return to the role for Josh Eccles, he is almost certainly going to start.
However, on the left-hand side of the pitch, a change is almost certainly going to be considered by Frank Lampard. Mason-Clark has been in superb form under Frank Lampard, averaging a goal contribution every match so far but he needs support from the full-back and Jay Dasilva failed to provide that against Portsmouth.
Jake Bidwell is almost always the preferred option for the Sky Blues, having also recently returned from an injury but whether he replaces Dasilva could be terminated by whether Frank Lampard wants to take a risk or not.
Coventry could look to move Luis Binks to left-back, with Binks being known to be comfortable with the ball at his feet which could play perfectly into the hands of Mason-Clark who is currently the club’s most in-form player. Equally Liam Kitching and Jack Rudoni have played in that role this season, though moving Rudoni out of the midfield may not be in the best interests of Frank Lampard.
Playing through Mason-Clark is a must
During the opening ten minutes of Saturday’s Championship clash, Coventry City looked to constantly play through Ephron Mason-Clark and it paid off with the club’s opening goal through Bassette.
However, after the opening stages and following Bassette’s missed opportunity, Coventry for an unknown reason stopped looking to find Mason-Clark and noticeably saw a drop in their attacking output for the remainder of the match.
Within the opening 18 minutes, Coventry City registered three shots on goal with one resulting in giving the Sky Blues the lead. The second was Bassette’s one-versus-one which was missed and the third was Mason-Clark’s effort that hit the post. Combined, the xG from these chances was 0.5.
For the remaining 72 minutes, Coventry only managed three further efforts, with only a 91st-minute shot from Jack Rudoni coming in the second half. The average xG of those chances fell to a miserable 0.03, proving exactly why the result was even more disappointing.
Mason-Clark was also the first player to be substituted by Frank Lampard, which wasn’t a decision that was well received by the travelling supporters and continued to sum up what was a miserable afternoon for the Coventry fans.
Against a side that have conceded 29 goals in their 11 away matches, Coventry City have to utilise their strongest attacking options – especially with Haji Wright being absent through injury and one way they do that is by playing through Mason-Clark.
Coventry supporters, what are your thoughts on these suggestions and also what would be your starting XI for the match against Plymouth Argyle on Boxing Day?