please log in to view this image Decent badge Ground please log in to view this image Feel sympathy for these lads well and truly shafted by sharing with the Ra Ra boys who are apparently skint LAST TIME OUT Coventry attractions The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is Christopher Cocksworth and the current dean is John Witcombe. The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St Mary's, a monastic building, of which only a few ruins remain. The second was St Michael's, a 14th-century Gothic church later designated as a cathedral, which remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War. The third is the new St Michael's Cathedral, built immediately adjacent after the destruction of the former. The ruined cathedral is a symbol of war time destruction and barbarity, but also of peace and reconciliation. please log in to view this image Preston North End will play a third consecutive away game, while Coventry City feature at home for the first time this season when the two sides meet on Wednesday evening. In The Dressing Room please log in to view this image After three weeks out with an ankle injury, Álvaro Fernández is expected to be available for selection after a return to training. Bambo Diaby and Sean Maguire have also been involved in training recently, however this game is likely to come too soon for the pair of them, but it is hoped they could be available for Saturday’s home game against Birmingham City. Andrew Hughes’ shoulder injury will be assessed on Tuesday before the squad travel to Coventry. A Look At Our Hosts please log in to view this image While Coventry City go into the game sat bottom of the table, that is certainly not a fair representation of where Mark Robins’ side are at. Due to troubles with their pitch, they have had to postpone all of their home Championship fixtures so far this season, meaning they’ve only played three league games – all away from home – and taken just a single point from them. Having finished in the top half last season, there was plenty of reported interest in their star players – the likes of Callum O’Hare, Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyökeres – but at the time of writing, they all remain at the club and will be looking to reach further heights this campaign. Going Head To Head Games played: 44 PNE wins: 19 Draws: 15 Coventry City wins: 10 Last PNE victory: PNE 2-1 Coventry, 20th October 2021 One To Watch please log in to view this image It’s hard to look past Viktor Gyökeres as Coventry City’s main man, with the Swedish striker having netted 18 goals in all competitions last season. He’s reportedly attracted a lot of attention, with Premier League side Everton just one club supposedly interested in the 24-year-old, and Mark Robins is unsurprisingly desperate to keep hold of their biggest goal threat. Gyökeres got off the mark for the season in the opening day draw at Sunderland and the former Brighton & Hove Albion man will be keen to extend his tally on Wednesday night. Match Officials please log in to view this image John Busby will take charge of only his third Preston North End fixture on Wednesday evening. Busby’s previous two PNE games both came last season at Deepdale, firstly in the 2-2 draw against Bristol City, before returning for the defeat to Reading in February. Busby has refereed six games so far this campaign, showing 22 yellow cards in that period. MACS VIEW Looks like Riis will be going nowhere but finding the net tomorrow night, there really has to be some change, gret not conceding but need to take chances. McCann and Fernandez play Brady further up field sorted. The joy of M6 road closures await, time to start taking our chances against a side who seem to be fighting off field issues all the time
Coventry City 0 Preston North End 1 Riis Coventry City line-up: Wilson; Rose (Tavares, 89), McFadzean, Doyle; Eccles (Dabo, 67), Allen, Sheaf (Hamer, 67), Bidwell; Waghorn (Palmer, 67); Godden, Gyökeres. Subs not used: Moore, Panzo, Walker, Dabo, Hamer, Palmer. PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham; Potts (Fernández, 66), Whiteman, McCann, Woodburn (Browne, 57), Brady; Evans (Riis, 66), Parrott. Subs not used: Cornell, Bauer, Browne, Johnson, Ledson. Attendance: 18,913. Referee: Mr J Busby. A hard fought entertaining game, we score a luxury and give a defensively masterclass in the second half with Greg Cunningham outstanding, as far the host they probably thought they should have got something from the game but they should soon start moving up the table. It was their first home game of the season and early shambles trying to get our coach parked and then the late arrival of stewards meant we were still trying to get in the ground 45 minutes before kick off. The much aligned pitch looked in decent condition. Three changes Browne and DJ left on the bench as well as Riis and the Spanish God. Fairly level early stages Cunningham forcing a save from Wilson. We passed the ball about well but when it came to work in the area we did look hesitant, Parott has some skill about him, works well with the players arond him but bady needs a goal. Plenty of corners Woodburn heading wide from a good position. please log in to view this image Coventry found their feet and Woodman savesd well from a long range effort from Doyle, another effort from the home side was curled wide. Then came the non award of a red card, Parrott clean through brought down by Wilson, Mr Busby and the linesman bottled it and he gets a yellow Coventry battered us at the start of the second period Waghorn hit the bar, we kept giving the ball away which didn't help but the back three got their bodies in the way and gradually we worked our way back into the game We scored with 20 minutes to go, Parrott shot blocked and substitute Riis found the net for his first goal of the season Panic stations at the back when Bidwel headed against the woodwork and there was the mother of al goalmouth scrambles which ended up with Cunningham injured for the cause. We should have doubled the lead but Riis and Parrott managed to cock a glorious chance up between them, we survived a modicum of pressure late on, three points would probably be higher in the table if we were more clinical Coventry manager Mark Robins told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire: "I thought we were in the game all the time. We had a lot of the ball, we're moving it quickly to try and open something up and it didn't quite work, but I don't think we deserved to lose it. "Preston make it really difficult by having bodies behind the ball. They've worked really hard with clean sheets in every game, so they're doing something right, although we've hit the bar twice. "We were a little bit on edge and that's probably to do with our league position on the back of having to wait until tonight to play our first home game." Preston manager Ryan Lowe: "I was just pleased with the performance of the group today. To see the ball hit the back of the net was a relief and it's even better to come away with three points. "I felt there was something brewing - I could feel the belief in the boys from the first minute. "It's about the whole squad and you can see that, with the lads on the sidelines supporting the boys on the pitch."
A game worth watching. Agree CCFC will move up the table - they had decent chances and will come up against less organised and determined defences than NE. NE's defencive success was pointed out on C4's EFL show. Only 2 other clubs in the history of English footy have let in no goals in 7 matches. A bit early to label this team as the 'New Invincibles'.
