Mark Robins edges towards strongest line-up – Coventry City predicted team v Sheffield Wednesday

Coventry City passed their first task of the new week with flying colours when they put three goals past in-form Blackburn Rovers to secure a welcome and much-needed victory on Tuesday night.

With the three points firmly in the bag, attention now turns to Saturday’s fixture against Sheffield Wednesday and the opportunity for the Sky Blues to back up their midweek win with another big performance and result to confirm the club’s season is finally up and running.

But how will Mark Robins approach his team selection? Logic says stick with a winning team and let those lads who did so well against Rovers do it all again against the Owls. Simple enough, you would assume, but when he took that course of action following the outstanding effort against Tottenham it came back to bite him on the backside against Swansea, the manager later admitting that, with the benefit of hindsight, he got it wrong.

But things have changed dramatically since then and a pitiful showing against Leeds means that he probably found out a lot more about his players and is, hopefully, edging closer to knowing his strongest starting line-up.

That would almost certainly include Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, but with the Japanese winger having been stretchered off with a deep gash to his leg on Tuesday evening it’s fair to assume he won’t be back until after the international break.

First things first, starting in goal we can expect Ben Wilson to continue between the posts after keeping the team’s first clean sheet of the season with a commanding display against Blackburn.

The same goes for the back four where Milan van Ewijk looked back to his best, both going forward on the overlap and getting back to defend with his blistering pace, while Jake Bidwell clearly has the edge over Jay Dasilva at left-back, adding some no-nonsense steel while also venturing forward to good effect to put in quality crosses to the box. A goal also almost certainly cemented his place in the starting line-up for the weekend.

Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching looked back on it in midweek and have the opportunity of re-establishing their central defensive partnership from last season, showing plenty of aggression and determination, albeit not always getting it right.

One of the most pleasing takeaways from Tuesday, meanwhile, was the return to form of Ben Sheaf who perfectly complemented Josh Eccles, who continues to grow in stature and maturity this season. That being the case, it’s a no brainer to stick with those two in the deeper midfield roles, leaving Victor Torp and Joel Latibeaudiere as back-up

Jack Rudoni is the only recognised number ten in City’s ranks and one of the first names on the teamsheet. Haji Wright is another who looked back on song the other night, and a goal will do him the world of good, so there’s no reason to change his place to the left of City’s forward three. Ephron Mason-Clark came on for Sakamoto when he got injured and is favourite to again fill in on the right, albeit he arguably looks more comfortable on the left.

Brandon Thomas-Asante has played in that position in previous games, but why would you deny him a second chance to lead the line after such a superb display full of energy and pressing that helped make the second before scoring the third last time out – his first league goal of the campaign, and third in all competitions? Van Ewijk, of course, is no stranger to playing higher up the pitch, with Latibeaudiere capable of filling in at right-back, but that’s getting into the realms of round pegs in square holes.

Other attacking options include Ellis Simms and Norman Bassette but, going on current form, they are most likely to be utilised as impact subs from the bench.

City’s predicted team v Sheffield Wednesday: Ben Wilson; Milan van Ewijk, Bobby Thomas, Liam Kitching, Jake Bidwell; Josh Eccles, Ben Sheaf; Ephron Mason-Clark, Jack Rudoni, Haji Wright; Brandon Thomas-Asante.