Coventry City host Wycombe Wanderers as fight for Championship security intensifies

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The Sky Blues welcome the rock-bottom Chairboys to St. Andrews on Saturday afternoon looking to extend the gap between themselves and the relegation zone.

Mark Robins’ side have won only two of their last ten Championship matches and sit six points clear of the bottom-three in 20th place.

City were architects of their own downfall midweek as poor defending and faulty finishing saw them suffer a 2-0 defeat against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Besides from being two goals down at halftime, Coventry were also a man down after Kyle McFadzean was shown a straight red card for handling Harry Cornick’s shot on the line with half of the match left to play.

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Not only did the performance serve as a timely reminder for Robins’ men of what is required to get the over the safety line this season, but relegation rivals Birmingham City’s 2-1 triumph over Reading on Tuesday – which moved Lee Bowyer’s new team level on points with Coventry – put destiny in the Sky Blues’ own hands as they prepare to face Wycombe this weekend.

Gareth Ainsworth’s team were condemned to their fifth defeat in six matches when they hosted an in form Tykes side on Tuesday evening.

A spot-kick finish from Cauley Woodrow and a brace for Daryl Dike put the visitors three goals clear before Uche Ikpeazu added a consolation with five minutes left to play.

⚽️? GOAL-CAM ?⚽️

Sublime cross from @CallumBrittain1, perfect finish from @DarylDike and yes, we love America too @MadsJuelAnders1… ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/hs81fsiZmk

— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) March 18, 2021

The Chairboys’ 1-0 victory over Preston North End boosted their hopes of an unlikely survival in the second tier last Saturday but another loss this weekend will all but confirm their doom. 

However, optimistic as ever, Ainsworth hopes his side can take inspiration from their recent defeat and perform a similar great escape as the Tykes did last season, who spent 16 game weeks at the foot of the table, but picked up eight points from their last five matches and avoided relegation on the final day. 

Though this weekends match-up does not favour Wanderers who have lost all six of their league meetings with Coventry and, despite St. Andrews not being their ‘home’, 71% of City’s total points have been accrued in Birmingham this season with a 0.89 points per game increase compared to their results on the road. 

When the two sides met in December, City captain Liam Kelly scored a double in front of 2,000 home supporters at Adams Park to earn Coventry their third win in an eight game unbeaten run before defeat at Wednesday. 

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This weekend, question marks hang over Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson’s head after another shaky performance has seen City fans call for Marko Marosi to be reinstalled for the remaining fixtures. Despite being a year younger at 27, Marosi is the more experienced of the pair having won promotion with the club from League One  last season, which could be of benefit to instil some confidence into the defence amid a relegation scrap.

In similar vein, Robins will also have to decide whether to stick with the three at the back following McFadzean’s red card appeal was rejected by the FA. Centre-backs Josh Packs and Michael Rose are adequate replacements for the 34-year old but a switch to a four may be on the cards after beating Sheffield Wednesday and drawing with their landlords in a 4-3-3 formation at the end of January.

As for the Buckinghamshire side,  Jordan Obita, who signed from Oxford United in January, is likely to return to the squad after he went off injured against Norwich City last month.

With one of the best season run-ins out of those in the bottom eight (+0.04 PPG behind only Nottingham Forrest and Rotherham), a win against last-place Wycombe will put Coventry in good stead for a convincing survival.

One eye will be on fixtures elsewhere for those in the Sky Blue camp with Birmingham facing Watford, Wednesday playing Barnsley and Rotherham taking on Bristol City.

Whilst for the Chairboys, three points would see them fight another day.

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