Birmingham City
Ben Sheaf reveals how Coventry City can defeat Birmingham City.
The midfielder believes his team will benefit from a couple of key factors in tonight’s game.
Ben Sheaf, speaking to the Sky Blues’ media team, believes Coventry City can capitalise on Birmingham City’s lack of confidence to secure three points this evening.
Blues had a strong start to the season and were even in the play-offs at one point, but the club’s board surprised everyone by sacking John Eustace and replacing him with Wayne Rooney.
They did this to change Blues’ style of play, but it hasn’t paid off so far, with the Midlands side currently sitting in 15th place. A loss tonight would not help them climb the divisional ladder.
Championship Table (As it stands December 4th) | ||||
Team | P | GD | Pts | |
9 | Sunderland | 19 | 7 | 27 |
10 | Watford | 19 | 5 | 27 |
11 | Cardiff City | 19 | 4 | 27 |
12 | Middlesbrough | 19 | 2 | 27 |
13 | Norwich City | 19 | -2 | 26 |
14 | Bristol City | 19 | -1 | 25 |
15 | Birmingham City | 19 | -4 | 23 |
16 | Plymouth Argyle | 19 | 2 | 22 |
They won’t be in the best mental state right now, given Rooney’s poor form at St Andrew’s, with the club winning just one game under the Manchester United legend since his arrival.
Another defeat tonight would put even more pressure on the 38-year-old, who may not have much time to turn things around.
Sheaf, on the other hand: “They’re in a bit of a tough spot at the moment”
Sheaf has identified a couple of key factors working in the Sky Blues’ favour ahead of tonight’s game.
“They’re in a bit of a tough spot at the moment, so you could think their confidence will be a bit lower, if so, we’ll be looking to capitalise on that,” he said.
“Our form at home has been good this year, so we’ll be looking to use that to our advantage as well and we’re confident going into the game.”
Despite the Sky Blues’ poor start to the 2023/24 season, Birmingham are only two places and one point ahead of them.
Coventry City could take advantage of Birmingham City’s mental instability.
Birmingham is not only suffering from poor results, but they are also having to adapt to a new style.
Adapting to this passing style while lacking confidence is not a good combination.
They would be more confident if they were getting results, but they have yet to build on their victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
Not beating Rotherham United last weekend would have been a setback because it was regarded as one of their most winnable games of the season, with the Millers in relegation trouble and without a permanent manager in place.
Now that they are in danger of falling further down the table, they must be mentally strong if they are to have a chance of turning things around under Rooney.
Sheaf is correct in pointing out that tonight’s hosts could exploit their lack of confidence, but the Sky Blues cannot afford to be complacent.
In other news, Coventry City’s chief executive explains his departure after an ‘incredible’ seven-year journey.
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