The Sky Blues travel to Adams Park to play Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.

Fact File

Name: Wycombe Wanderers

Founded: 1887

Stadium: Adams Park (first opened 1990)

Capacity: 9,448

Nickname: The Chairboys

Address: Adams Park, Hillbottom Road, High Wycombe, HP12 4HJ

Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards

The Opposition

Wycombe are currently in 23^rd place, two points from safety, as they embark on their first campaign as a Championship club, having been promoted from League One with the Sky Blues last season.

The Chairboys are managed by former player Gareth Ainsworth and have the likes of Joe Jacobson, Republic of Ireland international Daryl Horgan, Scott Kashket and Adebayo Akinfenwa in their squad.

The Buckinghamshire club lost their opening seven games of the season, but have now found their feet in the second-tier, after picking up 11 points from their next nine matches.

Manager

Gareth Ainsworth was appointed Wycombe manager in November 2012, having been in caretaker charge of the club since September that same year.

The 47-year-old had previously had two spells in caretaker charge of Queens Park Rangers, before steering Wycombe to safety following his appointment at Adams Park and keeping the club in the Football League on goal difference on the final day of the 2013/14 season.

However, he turned the club’s fortunes around the following season missing out on automatic promotion from League Two by a single point before losing in the play-off final at Wembley on penalties to Southend United having conceding in the final minute of extra-time.

After two seasons of finishing outside the play-off places, Ainsworth finally took Wycombe into League One, securing automatic promotion in 2017/18, returning the club to the third-tier for the first time in six seasons.

Ainsworth impressively kept the Chairboys in the division before securing promotion to the Championship for the first time in the club’s history against all the odds last season, defeating Oxford United in the play-off final at Wembley.

With Wycombe, Ainsworth has managed 425 matches recording 168 wins, 108 draws and 149 defeats.

Last Six Games

Lost – Barnsley 2-1 Wycombe (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Preston North End 2-2 Wycombe (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – Wycombe 0-1 Stoke City (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Derby County 1-1 Wycombe (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Wycombe 0-0 Huddersfield Town (Sky Bet Championship)

Drew – Wycombe 0-0 Brentford (Sky Bet Championship)

Last Time We Met

The two sides last met in League One in December 2019 when a Matty Godden hat-trick helped the Sky Blues to a comfortable 4-1 away win against league leaders Wycombe at Adams Park.

City raced into the lead after just three minutes when Liam Walsh found Sam McCallum on the left-hand edge of the penalty area before the full-back cut inside of his man and curled a superb effort into the right corner of the goal.

The hosts pulled themselves level on 14 minutes when Sido Jombati’s flick-on found Adebayo Akinfenwa who composed himself before finishing into the bottom right corner from eight yards out.

Mark Robins side were then awarded a penalty when Jombati’s short back pass was set to be pounced upon by the lively McCallum, only for Jombati to upend the full-back inside the penalty area.

Matty Godden made no mistake from the spot, sending the ball low to the keeper’s left to restore City’s lead just two minutes after conceding.

The Sky Blues went two goals ahead just before half-time when Jordan Shipley helped the ball on to Godden who rounded the goalkeeper and finished into an empty net for his second of the game.

Wycombe had a chance to equalise before the interval when Scott Kashket’s clever effort was pushed away by the alter Marko Marosi, diving sharply to his right.

City wrapped up the win in the second-half when a superb team move ended with Shipley flicking the ball into Godden’s path who produced a sublime first time finish into the bottom right corner from 20-yards out to complete his hat-trick.

Head-to-Head Record

Sky Blues Wins – 9

Draws – 0

Wycombe Wins – 1

Club Connections

Jack Grimmer

Current Wycombe defender Jack Grimmer spent two seasons with the Sky Blues before departing for Adams Park in the summer of 2019.

The Scotland youth international began his career with Aberdeen, becoming the youngest player to appear for the Dons, before signing for Premier League side Fulham in January 2012.

He spent time on loan with Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town over the next two seasons before he was recalled from his loan spell with the Shrews, making 17 appearances for Fulham following their relegation from the top-flight.

Grimmer returned to Shrewsbury on loan for the next two seasons and impressed in Shropshire, catching the eye of Sky Blues boss Mark Robins who signed him for the Sky Blues in July 2017.

The defender scored a famous goal to knock Premier League side Stoke City out of the FA Cup in January 2018 before helping City achieve promotion back to League One at the first attempt, scoring a stunning goal in the play-off final win against Exeter City at Wembley and was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year for his efforts.

He made 13 appearances for City the following season, departing the club having appeared 66 times scoring three goals.

The 26-year-old joined Wycombe in July 2019 and tasted play-off success with the Chairboys last season, playing the full 90 minutes at Wembley as they defeated Oxford United to clinch promotion to the Championship.

Ryan Allsop

Another player currently on the books of Wycombe, goalkeeper Ryan Allsop is enjoying his second spell with the Chairboys having previously spent a season on loan with the Sky Blues.

The Birmingham born goalkeeper came through the academy at West Bromwich Albion and spent time on loan at Stockport County before leaving to join Millwall in May 2011.

A brief spell with Icelandic side Hottur gave Allsop a taste of first-team football before returning to England with Leyton Orient in July 2012.

He made 24 appearances for the O’s, making his professional debut in the process, before departing for Bournemouth in January 2013 where he made 10 appearances as the Cherries secured promotion to the Championship.

The 28-year-old would only play a further 17 games for the club over the next four seasons, including twice in the Premier League, and was loaned out to City as part of the deal that took Callum Wilson to the South Coast club.

Allsop kept nine clean sheets in 27 appearances for the Sky Blues during the 2014/15 season before being recalled in January 2015.

His first spell with Wycombe came on loan the following season, making 18 appearances for the Chairboys, before finishing the campaign on an emergency loan at Portsmouth.

Further temporary spells with Blackpool and Lincoln City would follow, winning the EFL Trophy with the latter and keeping a clean sheet in the final at Wembley, before returning to Wycombe on a permanent deal in June 2018.

The goalkeeper has enjoyed the best spell of his career with Gareth Ainsworth’s side, making 41 appearances in his first season with the club before helping them achieve promotion to the Championship last term following their play-off final win against Oxford United at Wembley.

Match Officials

Andy Davies will be the man in the middle on Saturday afternoon, taking charge of his 12th game of the 2020/21 season.

He last refereed the Sky Blues in May 2018, when City played out a goalless draw with Morecambe in League Two at the Ricoh Arena.

This will be Davies’s ninth season as a Football League referee and he has officiated the Sky Blues on six occasions, with City winning two, drawing two and losing two of those matches.

So far, Davies has awarded 33 yellow cards and four red cards across 11 matches in the Championship, League One, Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy.

He will be assisted by Graham Kane and Mark Dwyer with Tim Robinson acting as fourth official.