The FA Cup returns this weekend and a highlight fixture for some will be the second battle between Coventry City and Derby County.

Their last meeting was a 1-1 draw back in October which was known more for its off the pitch trouble rather than the football on it and the two sides enter the FA Cup in very different form. 

City have failed to pick up a win in their last six matches whilst the Rams have won three and drawn one of their last six, with those three wins coming in their last four matches. 

Due to covid, this will be only Coventry's second match in four weeks and a fresh squad might make the difference in this tie. 

  • Team News

Coventry boss Mark Robins has hinted at changes to his side for the cup tie. Without giving away anything too revealing Robins stated he would enjoy the usage of five substitutes and a bigger bench that will allow him to use and rotate players more. 

However, with a lack of game time and no midweek game next week it could still be a strong side for Coventry this Saturday. 

Wayne Rooney stated Colin Kazim-Richards will start on Saturday after his impressive performance against Reading, Rooney went on to say that Derby will come out strong for this fixture with only two changes being made from that side, however, the boss didn't give out the full details of his side.

Embed from Getty Images

Lee Buchanan and Krystian Bielik are both back in training, however, the latter is in a non-contact training period and his return may still be a few weeks down the line. 

  • Predicted lineups

Coventry City: Wilson; Hyam, Clarke-Salter, Rose; Dabo, Hamer, Eccles; Maatsen; Jones; Walker, Gyokeres.

Derby County: Allsopp; Byrne, Davies, Jagielka, Ebosele; Knight, Thompson, Bird, Jozwiak, Lawrence, Kazim-Richards

  • Previous meetings 

The two sides have met eight times since 2010, with Coventry winning three, Derby winning two and the sides drawing three times.

It was a 1-1 draw when the two sides last met and in the last three times they've met there hasn't been more than two goals in the game, so don't expect them gushing in this weekend. 

  • Ones to watch 

Coventry's star striker Victor Gyokeres without doubt should be Derby's main concern. The Swedish striker has scored nine goals this season and is second in the club's minutes per goal, with a goal every 187 minutes. 

He averages the most shots on target and successful dribbles per match in the squad and has a season xg rating of 8.0.

Embed from Getty Images

As for Derby Kazim-Richards could cause Coventry considerable problems this weekend. The 35-year-old was crucial in the draw against Reading and is rewarded with a start this weekend because of that performance. So far season he has played 16 games this season, scoring four and assisting one. This isn't all bad considering he appears off the bench fairly often. 

  • How to watch

The game takes place on Saturday 7th of January at the Coventry Building Society Arena with kick-off 12:30 pm. This game is not available to watch inside the United Kingdom as it has been selected by the FA for overseas coverage. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author