This Week's Opposition: Coventry City

A closer look at the Blues' next opponent in the Championship with Pompey Live's Kirsty Roxanne.

It was a disappointing 2-1 loss on the road to Millwall last time out, meaning the Blues have only accumulated 2 league wins in 20 on the road this season.

Another away game awaits and it’s a midweek trip to the Coventry Building Society Arena for John Mousinho’s side.

MANAGER

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard is in the dugout for The Sky Blues.

Lampard was regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest-ever players with him holding the record for the most goals scored by a midfielder in the Premier League.

After retiring from international football, Lampard was appointed an OBE in 2015 for his services to football.

Lampard began his managerial career with Derby County in 2018, leading the club to the Final of that season’s Championship Play-Offs. He was appointed as Chelsea’s head coach a year later and guided the club to a 4th place finish in the Premier League and a place in The FA Cup Final, but was dismissed in 2021.

He served Everton for a year before a brief return to Chelsea, then joining Coventry back in November following the surprise dismissal of Mark Robins.

Since his appointment, Cov have accumulated 42 points from 23 matches.

Lampard was shown a red card after the full-time whistle was blown in Saturday’s controversial encounter with Burnley, meaning he will not be in the dugout for the meeting with Pompey on Wednesday.

ONE TO WATCH

Jack Rudoni is our one to keep tabs on this time around.

The midfielder signed his first professional contract with AFC Wimbledon, where he made 91 appearances across 3 seasons. He then went on to sign a 4-year contract with then-Championship outfit Huddersfield Town.

After Huddersfield were relegated to League One, he made the move to The Sky Blues and scored his first goal in a 2-1 home defeat to Sheffeild Wednesday.

The number 5, who typically plays in the number 10 role, has recorded 6 goals and 10 assists this campaign.

TOP SCORER

US international Haji Wright is the current top goalscorer.

Wright began his pro career in the States before going on to spend most of his onward playing days in Europe, featuring in the German Bundesliga, Danish Superliga and the Turkish Süper Lig.

The number 11 made the move to Coventry in 2023, signing a 4-year contract and for a club-record transfer fee of €9 million.

Wright converted a 100th minute stoppage time goal for Coventry against Wolves in the Quarter-Final of last year’s FA Cup, helping the club progress beyond that stage for the first time since their 1986/87 FA Cup success.

So far this campaign, Wright has bagged 11 goals, including a hat-trick on March 15th against Sunderland - These were his first goals since returning from an ankle injury and his first hat-trick for the club.

CURRENT FORM

At the time of Lampard's appointment, Coventry sat 17th in the Championship, however after a run of good form they now occupy 7th at the time of recording - 1 point behind Bristol City in the final Play-Off position.

The last time these teams met in the reverse fixture at Fratton Park, we were fortunate to witness a Callum Lang masterclass as he scored all 4 goals for Portsmouth, who came out on top with a 4-1 win after going a goal down just 3 minutes in.

Can the Blues defy the odds and collect all 3 points on a Wednesday night in Coventry?

Find out by tuning in to Pompey Live on Express FM from 7pm on Wednesday (April 9th) evening - Jake Smith will be joined at the Coventry Building Society Arena by Kirsty Roxanne and James Wilson to provide full coverage of the game.

Kick-off: 8pm!