Hopefully by now you’ve had chance to catch your breath after the fantastic 1-0 win at Birmingham last Saturday, because this week Coventry City travel to Bloomfield Road in search of their second victory on the bounce after a lean spell of five without a league win.
I sat watching the Swansea Cardiff League Cup game on Tuesday night thinking that the rest Blackpool received this week can only be a good thing for the league fixtures coming up. Ok, so the match was a fierce local derby – one that hadn’t taken place for years – but what good has come out of it for Cardiff? They are now without talisman and captain Stephen McPhail for a game after his sending off, along with an extra five bookings and tired legs going into a heavy week of Championship games that will see them play five times in 13 days.
That awful evening at Macclesfield was a blessing in disguise, although I do wish I’d got a refund!
Onto more pressing matters, and The Sky Blues, who only narrowly escaped relegation last season, spent a wad of cash in the summer, as they brought in quality not quantity. League One goalkeeper of the year, Kieran Westwood joined from Carlisle United, along with strikers Clinton Morrison and Freddy Eastwood.
But perhaps the most astute buy of recent times was that of manager Chris Coleman, as he’s guided City to safety last year, and the plan is now steady progression towards promotion.
Not that The Seasiders should be overawed – we know that Simon Grayson and his team pack a punch too.
There has been lengthy discussion on the web this week about the attendance for the fixture. Will this be the game where we finally see a sellout? On the back of the morale-boosting win on Saturday for both sides, Coventry are likely to fill their allocation once again and you’d hope Pool stay-aways would want to see what all the seaside fuss is about.
Cov’s Last Five
1-0 Win vs QPR (h)
1-1 Draw vs Sheffield United (a)
0-0 Draw vs Preston (h)
1-0 Loss vs Doncaster (a)
3-2 Loss vs Newcastle (CUP, h)
Blackpool Team News:
Striker Steve Kabba is set to start alongside Ben Burgess in attack, a combination that has yielded success in recent times.
David Vaughan looks like he’ll play on the left hand side of midfield ahead of Adam Hammill.
I’d be surprised if Claus Jorgensen didn’t keep his place against his old team after his display last week, but there’s quality on the bench waiting for their chance.
Jermaine Wright is out until New Year.
Player to watch: David Vaughan
The tricky midfield player could be key to unlocking the Coventry defence. Much like how Wes Hoolahan used to dicate the game from the left, Vaughan looks to drift inside and open up teams with incisive passing.
City will know a lot about Vaughan though, as Chris Coleman took him to Real Sociedad from Crewe when he was boss in Spain.
Coventry City Team News:
Likely to be unchanged from the team who beat QPR last week.
Guillaume Beuzelin is now fit again in midfield, but Aron Gunnarsson is thought to have kept his place ahead of him.
Player to watch: Freddy Eastwood
Remember Southend United robbing us blind a few January’s back? And the defeat away at Wolves early last year? Yes, down to Freddy Eastwood.
The Welsh frontman had a poor spell at Wolves before his big money move to Coventry, but is showing glimpses of recapturing his best form.
Predict The Game
Go to our forum to predict the match, by clicking here.
Match Prediction:
Blackpool 2 – 2 Coventry
Next Fixtures:
QPR, Away – Tuesday.
Cardiff City, Home – Saturday.
