Looking to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to five matches, top-six chasing Coventry City will host relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday at The Coventry Building Society Arena on Boxing Day.
The Sky Blues produced a brilliant smash-and-grab display at Sunderland to earn maximum points on Saturday, while a late collapse from the Owls saw them squander a result against Cardiff City.
Match preview
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After being announced as the successor to Tony Mowbray at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week, new Sunderland boss Michael Beale admitted his first match couldn't have gone much worse, as Coventry City rocked up in the North-East and stretched their unbeaten run to four games with a 3-0 success.
The Black Cats dominated possession and created more chances, but it was the Sky Blues who were clinical in the box, as Japan international Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, playmaker Callum O'Hare and Kasey Palmer found the net, with the latter scoring his first goal since January following a long-term injury.
Mark Robins has conceded that the departures of Chelsea-linked Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer during the summer transfer window - coupled with a turnover of 25 players - has hindered Coventry's start to the term, but with new faces such as Haji Wright and Sakamoto starting to find their feet, a top-six charge is back on the cards.
A record of just one loss in their last eight second-tier matches has allowed the Sky Blues to climb up to 15th in the Championship standings, meaning they sit six points behind Liam Rosenior's sixth-placed Hull City, while possessing a 10-point buffer over the relegation zone.
Coventry's form at The CBS Arena so far in 2023-24 has been perplexing - only Daniel Farke's Leeds United (0) have lost fewer times than the East Midlanders on familiar territory this season, but only four wins in front of their own supporters means that Robins's men are 15th in terms of their home record.
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With relegation rivals Rotherham United, Queens Park Rangers and Huddersfield Town all falling to defeats on Saturday afternoon, Sheffield Wednesday missed the chance to claw themselves closer to safety after losing in dramatic fashion to Erol Bulut's Cardiff City at Hillsborough.
Netting his fourth goal of the second-tier term, Dutchman Anthony Musaba opened the scoring in Yorkshire for the Owls, but an unlikely comeback in the second period secured three points for the Bluebirds, with a deflected strike from Karlan Grant and an own goal from Akin Famewo condemning Wednesday to a heartbreaking loss.
Generally, the Owls have enjoyed an upturn in results since the arrival of German coach Danny Rohl at Hillsborough to replace Xisco Munoz in October, with the second-tier strugglers managing three wins in their last five, including an eye-catching 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers on December 2.
A glaring issue for Wednesday this term has been their inability to regularly make the net ripple - their 17 goals so far is the lowest tally of any side in the division - although the introduction of Bailey Cadamarteri into the XI has reaped its rewards in recent weeks, with the 18-year-old scoring three in five appearances since the turn of the month.
At the official halfway point of the Championship campaign, Rohl's Owls are occupying 23rd place in the league standings, six points behind Darren Moore's Terriers in 21st, with a crucial clash between those two clubs coming up at the start of February at the John Smith's Stadium.
Team News
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Coventry only have the single long-term absentee in their ranks ahead of this Boxing Day clash, with attacker Fabio Tavares yet to return from an Achilles injury suffered in January.
Sky Blues supporters are awaiting news on the availability of midfielder Ben Sheaf after he was forced off in the first half at Sunderland due to a nasty cut to the head.
Josh Eccles will enter the starting XI if the 25-year-old is not ready for action, likely joining goalscorer O'Hare and Jamie Allen in the engine room.
With a congested festive schedule upon Coventry, Robins may opt to rotate his side slightly, meaning Matt Godden and Palmer could earn starting berths.
Sheffield Wednesday will be without the services of John Buckley until the New Year, as the midfielder underwent surgery on a shoulder injury on Thursday.
Josh Windass is a doubt for the trip to the East Midlands on Boxing Day because of a muscle injury, with the Owls' medical staff monitoring the forward on a day-to-day basis.
One player who is definitely out for the Coventry clash is fellow striker Mallik Wilks, who will not return to first-team action until February owing to his own muscular issue.
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Collins; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Bidwell; Allen, Eccles, O'Hare; Sakamoto, Wright, Simms
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Palmer, Diaby, Famewo, Johnson; Byers, Vaulks, Bannan; Paterson, Musaba, Cadamarteri
We say: Coventry City 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Coventry have earned very respectable results from fixtures against Southampton, Leeds and Sunderland recently, so the Sky Blues will not fear strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls need to produce a gritty response after losing Saturday's match in cruel fashion, but we feel that Robins's men will be too strong in the East Midlands.
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Top tip
Carter White
