By Chris
A brand new season is about upon us as Kevin Nolan’s Notts County travels to the Ricoh Area where The Magpies’ will take on Mark Robins' Coventry City.
The hosts haven’t been in the bottom tier of English football since the 1958-59 season and will be highly expected to bounce back into League One at the first attempt.
Notable summer recruitments for Coventry City consist of Jack Grimmer, Marc McNulty, Michael Doyle and Liam O’Brien.
The Sky Blues, much like Notts, will be hoping that the additional strengthening of their defence will be enough to overturn last season’s disappointment (relegation, in their case), and allow the club to return to better times.
Run-down of their last five pre-season friendlies
Saturday 8th July – Sutton United 0 Coventry City 1
Tuesday 18th July – Barnsley 3 Coventry City 1
Tuesday 25th July – Mickleover Sports 0 Coventry City 1
Saturday 29th July – Coventry City 0 Liverpool XI 0
Sunday 30th July – Nuneaton Town 1 Coventry City 2
The Players – Fact Sheet
Former Notts loanee Kwame Thomas features for the Sky Blues as a striker; the 21-year-old has made 14 appearances, netting three goals.
The Key Players
Marc McNulty will be hoping to impress his new club after leaving Sheffield United in the summer, the striker has tallied up a fair few goals whilst playing for various clubs and will be eager to showcase his talent within League Two.
Peter Vincenti will also be a key man for Coventry City come Saturday, his influence and play will be a major asset in midfield.
Liam Kelly and Kyel Reid will also offer the hosts a lot of bulk with their attacking phases, so Notts will have to be aware of their runs and prevent any chance of the midfield duo running in behind our defence.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
I fully expect Mark Robins to be more direct with Coventry City on Saturday, bolstering their attacking options in a formation, which will suit their attempts to retain the ball – as they attempt to dictate the tempo.
In pre-season the Sky Blues have been trying to strengthen themselves up at the back and put together a convincing performance to hold out against a very talented Liverpool XI largely made up of under-21 talent.
City are known for being a direct club, who patiently build play and use their wide-man to make the difference.
However, they have a fairly weak link in goal - the defence can be punished with clever play and from set pieces, with Liam Walker being a noticeable candidate for Notts in order to utilitise free space found at the back.
Much of the game will be played within the centre of the park, so it will be vital that we try to use our crossing and chances from distance in order to gain momentum.
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