Preview | Coventry City (A)
The Game
Coventry City v Argyle. Coventry Building Society Arena. Thursday, 26 December. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Coventry City are 17th in the Championship table, with 24 points from their 22 games. They have won six, drawn six and lost ten.
The Sky Blues won just two of their first 11 games; both wins came at home, against Oxford United and Blackburn Rovers. Consecutive wins - against Luton Town, at home, and then a very impressive 3-0 victory on the road at Middlesbrough – offered optimism, but after a loss at home to Derby County, City shockingly sacked manager Mark Robins, who had steered them from League Two to the fringes of the Premier League.
Coventry drew two and lost one of their next three games, before appointing former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard as their new head coach. Since his appointment, Lampard has overseen a 2-2 draw with Cardiff City, a 1-0 win at Millwall, a 2-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion, a 2-1 win over Hull City and, most recently, a 4-1 defeat at Portsmouth.
The Gaffer
Frank Lampard is one of the most respected and decorated English footballers of the last 30 years. Across his career, he scored a staggering 274 goals from 915 games, from midfield. As a Chelsea player, he won the Premier League title three times, as well as picking up four FA Cup winners’ medals. With the Blues, he also won the League Cup twice, the Europa League and, a pinnacle for any player, the Champions League in 2011/12. He earned 106 England caps, scoring 29 goals.
His first managerial job came at Derby County, and in his first season he steered the Rams to the Championship play-off final, which they lost to Aston Villa. Lampard then became manager of Chelsea, where he lasted just over a season-and-a-half.
After his dismissal at Stamford Bridge, Lampard quickly got the job at Everton, where he lasted almost exactly a year. A slightly surprising return to Chelsea followed, as caretaker manager for the last 11 games of the 2022/23 season. He had been out of work until being brought in by Coventry in November.
The Squad
Full-back Milan van Ewijk is Coventry’s only ever-present in their line-up this season. The Dutchman, 24, joined in the summer of 2023, from Eredivisie side Heerenveen. The quick, powerful right-back had previously played for Excelsior, ADO Den Haag and Cambuur.
Ephron Mason-Clark has broken in to the Coventry starting line-up of late, and has scored three in his last five, chipping in with two assists as well, playing on the wide left of a 4-2-3-1. Mason-Clark played nearly 200 times for Barnet before moving to Peterborough United, spending two seasons with Posh before his breakthrough with Coventry this season.
Midfielder Jack Rudoni (above) has made a big impact since signing from Huddersfield Town in the summer. Starting 20 of City’s 22 league games, he has scored three times and assisted five goals, racking up more minutes than anyone except van Ewijk. Rudoni emerged at AFC Wimbledon before spending two years with Huddersfield Town, before his move to Coventry.
Recent Meetings
Last season, Argyle lost their visit to Coventry 1-0, with Haji Wright scoring the only goal of the game. At Home Park, in February, the game finished 2-2, with Morgan Whittaker and Mickel Miller helping Argyle to a 2-1 lead before Coventry equalised in injury time.
Tickets
Tickets for this match are now off sale. This fixture is all-ticket, so there will be no sales on the day.
Collections for this match are no longer available.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will wear their yellow third kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 2.30pm, with Charlie Price and Mark Edworthy bringing you build up to the game, before handing over to the ground for commentary provided by Rob McNichol and Joel Grant.
Match passes to watch this game are available to certain international audiences. Click here for more information.