Tony Mowbray is looking at this weekends fixture as a tough challenge after his squad have undergone an intense five day training camp out in Austria...
The Sky Blues are midway through their preseason training over in Austria and are set to face Austrian Bundesliga side SK Sturm Graz on Saturday 16th, 11.00am (10.00am UK time) kick-off.
The game will be played at the home sides training centre Messendorf and will be open to any travelling City fans (free admission). Venue: SK Sturm Trainingszentrum Messendorf - Sternäckerweg 118, 8042 Graz, Austria.
The three times Austrian Bundesliga champions have appeared in five different Champions League campaigns, and reached the Europa League group stages in 2011/12 where they were grouped with Anderlecht, Lokomotiv Moscow and AEK Athens.
Die Schwoazn, as they are commonly known in Austria, boast the second biggest matchday attendance record in the country, with SK Rapid Wien topping the table.
Most recently, Sturm Graz took part in a club friendly against Scottish side Celtic, with our British counterparts emerging 1-0 victors. They finished fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga last season with 48 points from 36 games, two points outside of a European qualifying place.
Coventry City Manager, Tony Mowbray has billed the fixture as a tough test for his young squad and expects City to have to work hard off the ball. He said: “I hope to give more of the senior players a good 60/70 minute run out, as well as integrate some of the younger players.
“I’m expecting a side of that quality and experience to keep the ball well and therefore we’ll have to work hard out of possession, be compact and disciplined. It’s a tougher game than originally billed and we’ll need to make sure we prepare right for that.”
Official CCFC tour sponsor: Andrew Whiting Wealth Consultancy LLP