Coventry City will try to bounce back from defeat in their first pre-season friendly tomorrow when they take on League Two champions Swindon Town at the County Ground.
The Sky Blues suffered defeat against an impressive Rangers side back in July. However, with new signings Gustavo Hamer and Ryan Giles impressing in that fixture, all eyes will be on how they fare against supposedly 'weaker' opposition.
Swindon, on the other hand, are looking to extend a 100% record in friendlies so far; the Robins have beaten both Nuneaton Town and a Bristol Rovers Under 23 side so far in pre-season.
Team News
For the home side, new signings Diallang Jaiyesimi, Jack Payne and Tyler Smith have settled in straight away. The trio have managed six goal between them in the opening two friendlies and will be on the hunt for more against a weakened Coventry City defence.
As for Coventry City, promotion heroes Michael Rose and Fankaty Dabo will be out until the end of September after both having operations in the close season. They are joined on in the treatment room by new signing Julien Da Costa, who was also out for the Ibrox clash three weeks ago.
However, Jamie Allen and Kyle McFadzean will be returning to manager Mark Robins’ thoughts after missing the Scotland trip – a major boost for City. Wesley Jobello has also returned back to training, but pre-season is possibly too soon to expect a return to action for the Frenchman.
Previous Meeting
The last time these two clubs met, just two and a half years ago, was in League Two – with three promotions between them since then, fans would be mistake for thinking it was longer ago.
Sky Blue fan favourite Maxime Biamou opened the scoring at the Ricoh after just 17 minutes played, before Marc McNulty doubled the lead with a penalty five minutes later.
Despite Ollie Banks pulling a goal back for Swindon, City remained in charge and with just ten minutes remaining McNulty grabbed his second and Coventry’s third and secured all three points.
From both line ups, just three players remain at their clubs; Jordan Shipley and goalscorer Maxime Biamou are still on the books for Coventry, whilst Ellis Iandolo can still be found turning out for Swindon.
Ones to Watch
Coventry fans have been desperately waiting for their next opportunity to watch new signing Hamer since his 45-minute cameo against Scottish giants Rangers. The Brazilian-Dutch midfielder, who signed earlier in the summer from Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle, looked extremely comfortable against a strong Rangers midfield and got fans excited with a range of cross field balls and silky touches.
It will also be interesting to see how Declan Drysdale and Josh Pask deal with Swindon. The pair impressed in the Rangers fixture and fans will be keen to see them reciprocate this tomorrow; especially with Rose, McFadzean and Dabo struggling with fitness in pre-season.
As for Swindon Town, the three new signings are all likely to feature, but there is another recent signing that will have more to prove. Midfielder Matty Palmer will certainly be looking to impress following his January transfer. The former Rotherham United midfielder only managed one appearance last season for Swindon after COVID-19 cut short the season. He will definitely be the subject of great interest; fans will want to know what he can offer.
Where to Watch
This game will be available to UK viewers on Premier Sports 2 – it won’t be on iFollow, where both clubs can be found playing their matches in the league this season.
Kick-off is 3pm GMT.