Venue: The Ricoh Arena
Competition: SkyBet League Two
Date: Saturday, September 9th, 2017.
Kick-Off: 3pm
The Sky Blues welcome Port Vale to the Ricoh Arena as Coventry look to get back to winning ways in SkyBet League Two.
Last weekend’s goalless draw with Chesterfield at the Proact helped City add another point to their early-season total after defeats against Yeovil and Newport.
The visitors have lost five on the bounce in all competitions this season and have failed to earn themselves a single point since opening day’s 3-1 victory over Crawley.
Valiant’s boss Michael Brown may have kept his job over the summer, but the 40-year-old failed in his task of dragging his side from the inevitable drop down to League Two last season, winning just six of his first 31 games since taking charge on Boxing Day.
The Opponents
Manchester United academy graduate Danny Pugh will be a familiar name to Sky Blue fans on Saturday. The left-back made five appearances for City in 2015 after joining on a free from Leeds United but had his career in the West Midlands halted by an ankle injury.
Tom Pope, Michael Tongue and Anthony Kay provide Vale with spine rich with Football League experience. Despite failing to find the net this term Pope scored 69 times during his first spell in Staffordshire and will be one to keep an eye on.
Winger, Christian Montano was described by Michael Brown as the man signed to feed ‘the Pope’ and is certainly a treat for the Sky Blues. The Colombian gives Vale pace on the counter and a delivery strong enough to give Pope chances in the air.
Memorable Meetings
The Sky Blues completed the double over Port Vale last season with a 2-1 win at the Ricoh Arena in what was Mark Robins’ first victory after returning as Coventry City boss.
Kyel Reid gave the Sky Blues the lead late on in the first half with a stinging 35-yard volley that dipped over Deniz Mehmet before some sensational improvisation from Kwame Thomas doubled City’s advantage just five minutes later when he backheeled his rebound into the bottom corner.
Nathan Smith did grab a goal back for the visitors but it was not enough for Vale to take anything from the game.
Last Five Meetings
Coventry City 2-1 Port Vale - 21st March 2017
Port Vale 0-2 Coventry City - 1st October 2016
Port Vale 1-1 Coventry City – 7th February 2016
Coventry City 1-0 Port Vale – 26th December 2015
Coventry City 2-3 Port Vale – 7th March 2015