Coventryvs.Millwall

The Sky Blues managed a handsome home success on Boxing Day at the expense of Plymouth Argyle, whilst the Lions lost out at the home of Norwich City.

Match preview

After a 4-1 away defeat at the base of Portsmouth on December 21 - when Callum Lang netted all four goals for Pompey - Coventry City returned to winning ways at their East Midlands base last time out, securing a four-goal battering of relegation-threatened Plymouth, who look destined for the drop.

All of the Boxing Day damage was done during a pulsating opening 45 minutes at The CBS Arena, with a rare Josh Eccles brace - alongside strikes from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron Mason-Clark - sealing another victory in the East Midlands at the start of Frank Lampard's tenure.

Ahead of their final second-tier fixture of the 2024 calendar year, Coventry are currently occupying 15th spot in the Championship standings, eight points behind Hull City in the highest of the relegation spots and 10 points back from Watford, who are guarding entry to the playoffs.

Lampard's troops will need to improve their home form if they wish to have any chance of mounting an unlikely push for the top six during the second half of the 2024-25 term, with the Sky Blues mustering just five wins across 11 Championship matches at their base so far.

The attacking antics of American marksman Haji Wright will be vital in Coventry's aims of pushing towards the upper echelons of the Championship rankings, with the towering forward netting seven goals across 15 league appearances before suffering a leg injury at the start of November.

Since the departure of former head coach Neil Harris on December 14, Millwall have endured a mixed festive period under the leadership of an interim coaching team, securing a one-goal win over Blackburn Rovers on December 21 before losing out at Norwich on a misty Boxing Day.

The Lions were put down in a frantic first period at the Canaries' East Anglian base, with strikes in the opening 40 minutes from Emiliano Marcondes and Oscar Schwartau securing the points for the hosts, although Romain Esse managed to bag a consolation for the visitors in the second half.

Winning just one of their last eight second-tier matches as the final game of the 2024 schedule approaches on Sunday afternoon, Millwall are perched in 13th place in the Championship table, nine points ahead of the relegation zone and nine points behind Watford in the luxury of sixth spot.

Rather unsurprisingly, the Lions have been poor on their second-tier travels so far during the 2024-25 campaign, with Sunday afternoon's visitors to The CBS Arena victorious in just one of 10 Championship away matches, with that solitary success coming back in October at Swansea City.

Coventry City Championship form:

D

W

L

W

L

W

Millwall Championship form:

D

L

L

L

W

L

Team News

Coventry are battling on through the festive calendar without the services of goalkeeper Ben Wilson, who is targeting a New Year return from a knee injury.

The Sky Blues are also deeply missing the talents of Wright, with the club's leading marksman still recovering from a leg injury sustained a few months ago.

Millwall's medical room is packed to the brim in comparison to Coventry's, including with youngster Aidomo Emakhu, who picked up a groin injury on Boxing Day.

The 21-year-old joins a number of veterans of the Lions side on the treatment table, such as Dan McNamara (leg) and towering centre-back Jake Cooper (knee).

On loan from Middlesbrough for the 2024-25 campaign, Josh Coburn's progression at The Den has been severely curbed by a broken foot sustained at the start of the festive period.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Dovin; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Bidwell; Eccles, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Bassette

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Jensen; Leonard, Tanganga, Wallace, Bryan; De Norre, Saville, Azeez, Esse, Watmore; Ivanovic

We say: Coventry City 2-0 Millwall

After battering the Green Army at The CBS Arena on Boxing Day, Coventry will be confident of repeating the trick against a Millwall side who do not travel well.

Written by

Carter White

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