Championship | Gameweek 23

Dec 26, 2024 at 3pm UK

The Coventry Building Society Arena

Coventry vs Plymouth

Match preview

After two glamorous stints in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park, Frank Lampard now finds himself at the helm of a struggling Coventry side looking to shake off relegation fears and return to the top flight.

The former England great has endured a mixed start to his tenure in the East Midlands, winning two, drawing one and losing two of his first five league games, with one of those defeats coming at the hands of newly promoted Portsmouth at a raucous Fratton Park last Saturday.

The Sky Blues looked on course for back-to-back wins in the Championship when summer signing Norman Bassette opened the scoring after just four minutes on the south coast, but the visitors then surrendered completely, with Pompey's Callum Lang firing four goals past Bradley Collins.

Coventry, who are still reeling from their heaviest defeat of the 2024-25 campaign to date, currently sit 17th in the Championship table, six points above the relegation zone and a worrying 11 points outside the play-off places.

Lampard's men will need to drastically improve on their home record of 14 points from 10 games if they are to make an unlikely push for a top-six finish in the second half of the season, although the Sky Blues have fared well in the East Midlands since the departure of Mark Robins, taking a combined four points from games against Cardiff City and Hull City.

After a disastrous spell in charge of Birmingham City last season, Wayne Rooney has managed to bounce back at the helm of Plymouth, who are fully prepared for another survival battle after avoiding relegation by a single point in 2023-24.

The Pilgrims rely heavily on points at their Devonshire base and that was the case on Saturday afternoon as strikes from Lewis Gibson, Darko Gyabi and Mustapha Bundu were enough to earn them a share of the spoils with Michael Carrick's promotion-chasing Middlesbrough.

In the midst of a seven-game winless streak, Plymouth are rooted to the foot of the Championship table as 2024 draws to a close, with Thursday's visitors to the Coventry Building Society Arena a point behind Ruben Selles' Hull City in the relatively comfortable 21st position.

True to their self-deprecating chant, the mighty Argyle have been miserable on the road so far in 2024-25, with Rooney's men failing to win any of their 11 second-tier away games, picking up just two points and conceding a staggering 29 goals in the process.

Plymouth's miserable run away from Home Park stretches back to last season, with Thursday's visitors last recording an away win on 5 April, when the Pilgrims, under the interim stewardship of Neil Dewsnip, recorded a 1-0 victory at League One Rotherham United.

Recent Performance

Coventry City Championship form:

LDWLWL

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

DLLLLD

Team News

Ben Wilson, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since the start of October, could be in contention to start on Boxing Day, especially given Coventry's recent goalkeeping problems.

The Sky Blues are desperately without top scorer Haji Wright, who is expected to return from a leg problem in the New Year.

Lampard is set to make a number of changes after Saturday's embarrassment at Portsmouth, meaning Jamie Allen could be given a chance to impress in the engine room alongside Ben Sheaf.

Plymouth's attacking options have been severely depleted in recent days, with Ryan Hardie and Michael Obafemi picking up injuries in the draw at Middlesbrough.

Argyle's only fit striker, Archie Gray, is almost certain to start at the CBS Arena as the veteran is contracted to the club until January 3.

The visitors will be without a number of their first-team stars, including summer signing Ibrahim Cissoko and last season's top scorer Morgan Whittaker.

Possible starting lineup

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Collins; Van Ewijk, Latibeaudiere, Kitching, Bidwell; Allen, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Bassette

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Mumba, Szucs, Gibson, Galloway; Randell, Gyabi, Bundu, Al Hajj, Issaka; Gray