Frank Lampard must not repeat Mark Robins howler when Coventry City host Birmingham City

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Coventry City and Birmingham City face each other in the Championship on Saturday afternoon in the early kick-off.

Coventry drew 0-0 with Leicester City in the M69 derby clash at the weekend, with Carl Rushworth hailed by Frank Lampard for his heroics to keep the scores level.

Their upcoming opponents looked destined for a goalless draw themselves on Saturday, before Lyndon Dykes’ last-gasp winner for Birmingham clinched all three points against Swansea City.

In an early kick-off, Coventry and Birmingham face each other for the first time in over 17 months, and Lampard will be desperate to avoid the fate that Coventry suffered last time against the Blues under his predecessor, Mark Robins.

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Coventry City could not make possession count against Birmingham City

Coventry and Birmingham fans must cast their minds back to the latter stages of the 2023/24 Championship campaign to recall the most recent meeting between the two sides.

In April 2024, Gary Rowett’s Birmingham side beat Coventry 3-0 at home, thanks to an own-goal from Bobby Thomas, which came before strikes from Ivan Sunjic and Jay Stansfield.

The Blues’ impressive victory boosted their survival hopes, but the win was not enough, and Birmingham suffered the dreaded drop to League One shortly after.

When the sides face each other again this Saturday, Lampard will want to avoid a repeat of not only the scoreline, but the manner in which Coventry lost to Birmingham.

During the clash, Coventry had 71% possession against Birmingham with an 88% passing accuracy, but failed to capitalise on their ball dominance with just two shots on target, going on to suffer a frustrating defeat.

However, Coventry and Birmingham’s respective stats this season point towards a tighter affair this time around.

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Coventry City and Birmingham City will want to dominate the ball

So far in the second tier season, both Coventry and Birmingham are among the top seven clubs for average possession.

Coventry sit seventh in the highest average possession so far in the Championship with 55.5% and Chris Davies’ Birmingham sit just above in sixth with 56.5%.

Crucially, the difference between the two possession-oriented sides is their goals scored tally so far.

Coventry have netted a staggering 15 goals in just six games to establish themselves as the league’s most potent side currently, whereas Birmingham have netted just five.

As Robins found out in the last meeting, goals win games, not possession, and Lampard will be desperate to avoid a similar fate on Saturday at the CBS.