Coventry City v Bristol City: Is it on TV, how to watch, injury and team news

Coventry City are Bristol City’s latest opponents before the international break as the Robins make their way to the Ricoh Arena this Saturday.

After suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Birmingham City, there is a need to bounce back from a performance that was below expectations with just under 3000 supporters set to descend to the Midlands.

Opponents Coventry suffered defeat as well, losing to in-form Swansea City with Jamie Paterson earning a goal and an assist against his hometown team.

In terms of the league table, there are 15 places between the two sides with eight points between them.

City cannot be overtaken this weekend as nearest placed Peterborough trail them by four points but they can move up to as high as 14th.

What’s the latest team news for Bristol City?

Matty James was withdrawn from action after almost an hour on Tuesday for a foot injury he had been carrying from last Saturday. His status is yet to be decided with Pearson making a decision tomorrow in the final day of training.

After being hospitalised with a head injury from their game against West Brom, Nathan Baker is still not available for selection for this match. The defender was admitted on the day of the defeat and left the same day, but the severity of his concussion injury keeps him sidelined.

Youngsters Antoine Semenyo, Robbie Cundy and Tommy Conway are also unable with the former ruled out with knee injuries whilst Conway has injured his ankle.

At the end of October, Andy King had surgery on his hamstring, which has put him on crutches, keeping him out of action till December.

A boost is Joe Williams has returned to first-team training and with the potential absence of two midfielders, could make a welcome return to the side in the holding midfield role.

What’s the latest team news for Coventry?

Earlier in the week, Bright Enobakhare was released by Coventry, three months into what was designed to be a two-year contract.

Coventry like Bristol City are part of this ever growing trend in football of playing either with three or five defenders at the back. For their last three matches they have deployed a 3-4-1-2 formation, similar to City, who also like to play with two frontmen.

Front-man Martyn Waghorn hasn’t started for Coventry in their last six matches and has an uphill task to get back into the team. After previously testing positive for COVID-19, Waghorn has now hurt his shoulder whilst in training. Fortunately for him it was popped back in however there is not a timescale on his return with Mark Robins coy on his availability.

Centre-back Josh Pask hasn’t featured in recent weeks but played for their Under-23’s team, which could earn him a place on the bench. His centre-back partner Declan Drysdale has also been in the treatment room but is further behind Pask and is unlikely to play.

Josh Eccles is Coventry’s long-term absentee with the central midfielder out for three months after going for surgery on a hip injury.

Likely to lead the attack for Coventry this season is former Brighton striker Viktor Gyökeres. The 23-year-old has scored nine times this season, averaging a goal every 147 minutes. Former Aston Villa academy product Callum O'Hare will hope to supplement him in attack, given his three assists this season.

How could both teams line up on Saturday?

Coventry City: Moore; Hyam, McFadzean, Clarke-Salter; Dabo, Sheaf, Hamer, Maatsen; O'Hare; Godden, Gyokeres

Bristol City: Bentley, Pring, Atkinson, Kalas, Tanner, Bakinson, Williams, Massengo, Weimann, Martin, Wells.

Is the match on TV?

If you are based in the United Kingdom, you will be unable to watch this match live. the game is being played at the traditional kick-off time of 15:00 pm on a Saturday, this is the hours of the media blackout, which was introduced in the 1960s to protect attendances.

Followers from abroad however can access the match through iFollow.

How can I watch highlights?

Tune in to the ‘EFL on Quest’ on QUEST at 21:00 pm to catch all of the Championship highlights. Depending on the entertainment levels of the match, it could be towards the start of the first hour or towards the end.

If you can’t wait then Sky Sports News usually shows snippets of the matches after 17:00 pm.

Another way to capture the match is by going on Bristol City’ YouTube channel after midnight.