Predicted Coventry City squad vs. Sheff Weds: Steer clear of extra time at all costs
Tuesday night marks Coventry City’s return to FA Cup action, and if they can defeat Sheffield Wednesday, they have a fantastic chance to advance even farther in the competition.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, but a date with non-league Maidstone at the CBS Arena in the fifth round is a big incentive for winning the fourth round replay. Additionally, the national neutrals will support this year’s competition’s darlings, but the Sky Blues actually stand a good chance of reaching the quarterfinals.
But, in football, things don’t always go as planned, especially when the cup is involved. For this reason, Mark Robins must select a team to defeat Wednesday’s rival Championship team before he can even begin to consider the future. Because Liam Kitching, the center-half, was sent off for a last-man challenge at Norwich last weekend, the City manager will have to make one change against the Owls.
That almost certainly means the manager will stick with a back four instead of switching to a three with wing-backs, as he did in the 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, giving Luis Binks another opportunity to shine in the left center-back position. So far, Robins has switched goalkeepers for the cup; Brad Collins, the starter, has been replaced in the first two games by Ben Wilson.
Joel Latibeaudiere in a back three, Josh Eccles out of position at right wing-back, and Jay Dasilva on the left were among the six changes made. However, one would think that Robins would go as strong as rationally possible, since he will want to finish the game and avoid energy-sapping extra time and penalties this time around.
Thus, it would make sense to start Milan van Ewijk in his best attacking lineup, ideally at right-back where he can overlap with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto so well. The Japanese winger’s availability, though, may be in doubt given that he received a lot of rough treatment at Norwich, where Robins claimed he had the bruises to prove it.
Eccles, Jamie Allen, and Victor Torp are all viable options in midfield during Ben Sheaf’s six-to eight-week injury layoff. This could also be the ideal chance to bring back Liam Kelly to the starting lineup, as the captain opted to stay in during the January transfer window, following which Robins stated he would be given another chance at some point.
After being rested as an unutilized substitute at Carrow Road, Matty Godden’s fresh legs would make sense up front, and Kasey Palmer’s comeback would also seem likely after he was brought off the bench the previous weekend.
Ben Wilson; Milan van Ewijk, Bobby Thomas, Luis Binks, Jake Bidwell; Josh Eccles, Victor Torp; Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Kasey Palmer, Haji Wright; Matty Godden is the predicted lineup against Sheffield on Wednesday.
