Coventry City

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Coventry boss Frank Lampard has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Sunderland at CBS Arena (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Bobby Thomas has "a small calf issue" and will be assessed closer to Saturday to determine whether he is available or not.

• On Thomas' injury being an opportunity for Stephen Mfuni: "Yes, and he has shown in the moments he's played and around the building that he's a fantastic young player. It's an opportunity, for sure."

• On whether he knows his best XI, Lampard said: "In the modern day, I don't love that question because we are in a moment when we have got new players coming in who are trying to adapt, and others who mostly haven't played in the Premier League who are trying to adapt. Teams change a lot."

• Lampard said they have to be at their "max" to get results in this league and referenced being "more passive" in the defeat by Fulham than in the three previous games.

• On what he has been working on this week in training: "Some tactical detail, but more that we produce a good energy in our performance. Train at the level to reproduce it on matchday."

• He said his players "have to relish" the challenge of competing in the Premier League and "tackle it head on".

• Lampard said "it's too early" for talk about Sunderland and Coventry's position in the league and the weekend's result shaping the season in any way.

Hit play above to hear more from Lampard, speaking to BBC CWR's Will Oelrich, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Listen to live commentary of Coventry v Sunderland on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 (first half) and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (second half).

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Former Coventry City goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic believes Frank Lampard will make changes to his starting XI following the back-to-back defeats to Tottenham and Fulham.

Lampard's starting line-up again featured eight players from last season's title-winning team, with Brandon Thomas-Asante continuing to play out of position on the left wing.

"I think we will see changes," said Ogrizovic on the Sky Blues Fancast. "It's important that we find out what players like Yann Gboho are about because unless he's really in the doghouse we need to get him on the pitch.

"He's 25-years-old and we paid a lot of money for him.

"I would have thought he's ready and chomping at the bit to have a go."

Sky Blues supporter Anthony added: "There's lots of speculation as to why they've not really been included recently, but we probably won't ever find out.

"Getting Gboho on the pitch can only be a good thing, but the [omission] of Loum Tchoumna on the right side is something I don't mind as much given Tatsuhiro Sakamoto's performance against Fulham.

"His work rate and his ability to be a nuisance means he can still play a role.

"There are players from last year's squad that can make a difference, but I think we are expecting a bit too much of them at the minute."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Coventry City page to get all Sky Blues audio content.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Coventry City and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Coventry fans

Lee: Disappointed and I don't say that very often. I thought we did OK to go into half time 0-0 but after half-time we were slightly on top but never looked like scoring. We're missing that attacking edge that almost every other team has.

Paul: Poor all over the pitch, no creativity at all! New players have not added any quality. Missing a leader!

Arthur: Sadly it feels like we keep trying the same tactics and starting line up, they huff and puff but the quality isn't crisp. Yes loyalty to last years squad is noble - but the newcomers haven't been used enough and it isn't enabling us to compete in games and create enough clear scoring opportunities. We don't have enough striker firepower upfront and using wingers to fill gaps won't convert enough goals. Frank has the backing of the board but when will he have to start gambling more? Any football manager only has so much time

Steve: The bubble has burst so quickly after the two wins. No cutting edge up top and yet Simms, since his goal against Newcastle, not given a look in. Trying to stay hopeful but fearing the worst.

Fulham fans

Craig: Poor performance overall in attack but a valuable three points. How much longer can Arbeloa stick with Garcia though? Muniz deserves to start.

Laurence: New players, new manager, new tactics, but same Fulham problem - dominating matches and possession but unable to put the ball in the net. All of the possession against Coventry and again just one goal. I don't know what the root problem is (that is what the manager is paid for) but I do know things needs to change.

Adam: Overall happy with the win but Arbeloa has to swallow his pride and bench his Madrid boy Gonzalo Garcia. He provides absolutely nothing and has not adapted to the Premier League. Muniz needs minutes and Garcia needs to learn.

Christopher: Great passing and pressing. We just need to get a higher percentage of our shots at goal between the posts, under the crossbar and out of the reach of the goalie, then we could start to do really really well!

Coventry City Defender Jay Dasilva says Saturday's defeat to Fulham "is a tough one to take as there wasn't really much in the game".

Speaking to BBC CWR, the Wales international said: "It's definitely frustrating. They didn't create much and we didn't create too much.

"In the end, the moment goes their way and we lose the game.

"Starting Monday, we get back to the training ground and get working hard."

Hit play to listen above

Frank Lampard spoke to Sky Sports after Coventry's defeat against Fulham: "They're a good team and there wasn't much in it at both boxes. Throughout the game very limited chances, we defended well but they didn't open us up really but neither did we. Then we conceded the goal with a moment of quality from them which we couldn't produce.

"There's always things you can do the quality of the finish is good. We can analyse to see where we can do better.

"It [reaction] has to be good - this is the story of this league. Trying to compete, the gap is what it is. Couple of games where the result hasn't come and a couple where it has. We want to try and win games but if we don't win we don't want to lose.

"We have to be realistic, have to be maxed out every week. Fully prepared and fully positive and we weren't quite that today we were slightly off our usual selves. You can suffer in games like this but you have to try and turn that."

Did you know?

Coventry have failed to score in five of their eight games in the Premier League this season, the most of any side; indeed, no side has scored fewer goals than Coventry in the Premier League this term (6).

Hear more from Lampard on BBC Sounds

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It is early in the season, but Saturday's defeat and Coventry's next match against bottom club Sunderland could likely prove to be a barometer for how strong Frank Lampard's side are.

They endured a tough start to life back in the top flight but picked up back-to-back victories before being beaten 3-1 by Tottenham on Monday in a match where the scoreline was arguably harsh.

Coventry's issues this season clearly lie in front of goal, with four of their six so far having come in their win against Newcastle. They only generated 0.5 expected goals (xG) against Fulham.

On Saturday, they once again failed to score in the first half - something they have done in seven of their eight league games this term.

While their counter-attacking style produced some moments of promise, the lack of a clinical edge left them unable to make it count and vulnerable to being punished.

In particular, they had a sustained period of chances in the second half where they subjected Fulham to continuous waves of attacks but none produced anything of note.

Defeat leaves them just one place off the bottom of the table.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Coventry City's performance

What did you make of Fulham's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are four games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Manchester City (12:30)

• Arsenal v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Coventry City v Fulham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Chelsea v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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Whoever loses this is likely to end the day in the relegation zone.

Sometimes these kind of games can be quite cagey, with both teams afraid of being beaten, but here I feel like Coventry and Fulham will have a go and there could be a few goals flying in.

Coventry have a bit about them going forward, especially when they use their pace on the counter-attack, but they are also a bit vulnerable defensively.

Because of that, I am going to go with Fulham. They got their first win of the season against Hull City last week and they are definitely capable of getting another one here.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Sophie Brown
BBC Sport journalist

Coventry City's two-game winning run may have come to an end against Tottenham on Monday but there will still be plenty of optimism going into Saturday's meeting with Fulham.

Frank Lampard's side had a tough start on their return to the top flight, losing four games in a row without scoring.

But three of those fixtures were against the current top three (away at Manchester City and Arsenal, and at home to Brighton). Having now got points and goals on the board, their next two matches are against clubs currently in the relegation zone.

Coventry centre-back Bobby Thomas has been one of their standout players in this campaign. After 16 clearances against Newcastle – the second-most by a player in a match this season – he made a game-high seven at Tottenham, and tops the Premier League rankings for that metric.

But there wasn't much he could do against Spurs, where unusually all three of their goals came from outside the box, meaning the Sky Blues have conceded more than twice as many such goals as any other team in the Premier League this season.

After losing to Ipswich and beating Hull City in their past two Premier League games, Fulham now face the third of the Premier League newcomers in the shape of Coventry.

Fulham's win over Hull was their first Premier League victory under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa and, even though they are in the relegation zone, the pressure has lifted a little off him for now.

It is perhaps unlucky for Fulham that it has taken this long to get that win, with their results not really representative of their performances.

They are averaging 57.2% possession and 492 successful passes per game in the Premier League this season, both their highest on record in a campaign (since 2003-04).

But they have not been clinical enough in turning their impressive numbers into goals. Fulham have had more touches in the opposition box than any other Premier League team this season, yet rank joint-15th for goals scored.

Only Tottenham and Nottingham Forest have a lower shot conversion rate in this season's Premier League. Even Alex Iwobi's winner last weekend needed a deflection and a goalkeeping error to squeeze into the net.

A new episode of BBC CWR's Sky Blues Fancast is now available on BBC Sounds.

Rob Gurney hosts as we look back at the defeat at Tottenham, before "two huge games in the context of the season" coming up - both at home, against Fulham and Sunderland.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Coventry City page to get all Sky Blues audio content.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Despite spending nearly £130m in the summer transfer window, eight of Coventry City's starting XI against Tottenham were part of last season's Championship title-winning squad.

And for a second successive game, Loum Tchaouna was omitted from the matchday squad, while Yann Gboho, who is yet to make a Premier League appearance, was also absent.

Gboho, 25, made his Coventry debut in September's Carabao Cup defeat by Aston Villa, before scoring on his senior debut for Ivory Coast in the international break.

There were hopes the winger would feature against Newcastle when the Premier League resumed, but he was an unused substitute in the 4-1 victory.

Post-match, head coach Frank Lampard hinted at the difficulties of keeping a 25-man squad happy and said: "We're a promoted team and we need everybody. And a few lads need to know that, and a lot of the lads knew that tonight."

Tchaouna and Gboho are just two of the 12 players the Sky Blues signed this summer with the intention of improving the quality and quantity of their squad.

It remains unclear who Lampard views as his starting striker after seven games, but Taiwo Awoniyi, Sidiki Cherif and Ellis Simms all have their own strengths and provide him with different options.

The wide positions, however, have left supporters scratching their heads.

Tchaouna, who can play on both wings, started the opening two games of the season before being dropped to the bench, where he featured a further two times before being left out of the matchday squad altogether.

Despite having Tchaouna and Gboho at his disposal, Lampard has opted to play last season's stallwart Ephron Mason-Clark, as well as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Brandon Thomas-Asante, in the wide positions.

The reliance on Thomas-Asante has perhaps proved most surprising, with the forward featuring in all seven games so far, predominantly on the wings.

In Thursday's news conference, Lampard confirmed Tchaouna and Gboho are "training and fit", dismissing rumours of any fallout.

"Sometimes there's not the drama behind it that people presume," he said. "They are adapting to how we are, how we play and how we train.

"The idea that they come straight into the team because of that price tag is not right. They need to adapt a little bit.

"We want the most from them and for them to succeed at Coventry. Sometimes I just have to make decisions that drive the group."

How soon Tchaouna and Gboho, who cost a combined £30m, can work their way back into the matchday squad remains to be seen.

But it was unity and togetherness that propelled Coventry City to the Premier League as Championship title-winners, and they will need everyone pulling in the same direction if they are to retain their place in the top flight.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham at CBS Arena (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Midfielder Josh Eccles recovered from his calf injury but has picked up an ankle injury that is now "affecting his rehab" and timeline for returning to team training.

• Loum Tchaouna and Yann Gboho, who were not in Monday's travelling squad to Tottenham, "are training and are fit" but still "adapting to how we play and how we train".

• Lampard said Tchaouna "has to understand what we want on the pitch and off the pitch, on the ball and off the ball, as every player does", adding that the winger is "working towards that".

• More on Tchaouna and Gboho not featuring: "Sometimes there's not the drama behind it that people presume."

• Lampard said choosing his squad "is the hardest part" of his job and he has "no favourites" so players are picked based on the way they have trained and who is best suited to the gameplan.

• Gustavo Hamer asked to play for the under-21s this week because "he wanted to play and get minutes" in the tank. Lampard said: "I like that a lot. Myself and my staff have been really impressed with his work ethic. The best players act like how Gus is at the moment - being supportive to his team-mates and doing all the right things. He's a good example."

• Lampard said centre-back Bobby Thomas "is showing his true talents" this season in the Premier League and "there's been a big progression on and off the pitch" with the 25-year-old also taking on more leadership.

• On opponents Fulham, who are in the relegation zone: "Their results are not aligned with their performances. They have a really good style of play and like a lot of possession. They can build or play through, so have a lot of entries into the final third."

Hit play above to hear more from Lampard, speaking to BBC CWR's Will Oelrich, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Listen to full commentary of Coventry v Fulham on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds on Saturday

Coventry City fan Parmdip Dhillon has spoken to BBC CWR's Vic Minett all about the Sky Blues' new Punjabi supporters' group.

Dhillon said: "We are recognising the diversity of the city. There is a huge number of Punjabi Coventry fans that go to games.

"For future generations, it is an important thing to see that you can support Coventry.

"You can show pride in your Punjabi heritage and in your football club - it is about bringing those two together."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Coventry City page to get all Sky Blues audio content.

Image source, Getty Images

James Maddison says he will "apologise to anyone" who thought his celebration after scoring for Tottenham against his boyhood club Coventry City was "badly timed".

The 29-year-old, who made 42 senior appearances for the Sky Blues, scored within 14 minutes of his first Premier League start since 27 April 2025, having faced a long road to recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Maddison's celebrations included kissing the Tottenham badge on his shirt - a decision which has garnered some backlash from Coventry City fans.

The midfielder has now explained the reasoning behind his celebration and apologised to anyone he offended.

"I had already planned that my first goal I was kissing the badge of this club who has supported me and my family through the darkest days of my career over the past 18 months," Maddison wrote on X, external.

"I absolutely adore and love Coventry City - all of my close friends and family know that. I am a fan and I always will be.

"I will 100% apologise to anyone who thought the timing was bad, my first goal back just happened to be against my hometown club.

"Good luck to Frank [Lampard] and the boys for the rest of the season. PUSB."

We asked for your thoughts after Monday's Premier League game between Tottenham and Coventry.

Here are some of your comments:

Tottenham fans

Clive: Brilliant win... De Zerbi's hard work starting to pay off.

Iain: Great result, maybe not the best performance with levels nowhere near what we produced at Old Trafford, but we will take it and move on. Can't see what Lampard is moaning about. It was a totally accidental elbow from Marmoush. He should perhaps focus on how easily his defender gave up the fight to get goal-side. Slightly embarrassing.

Mike: The win flattered us despite Maddison's quality and we need to show more urgency and desire to get at opponents. No doubt some players are low on confidence but most need to deliver more, especially to justify transfer fees and places in starting 11. We need to see a real effort and performance against Chelsea, whatever the outcome.

Andy: Finally a win!. And finally an overdue start for Maddison, our only creator, showing why he has to be our number 10 in every match from now on if we are going to be a top-six team again. Please De Zerbi - decide on who will be playing alongside Tonali and Maddison in midfield and stick to that combo.

Martin: Three points but still look too fragile at the back for my liking. The score flatters us, I never thought we had full control of the game. But a win is a win.

Coventry fans

Ian: All Sky Blue fans who are old enough will have seen videos on the Coventry Evening Telegraph's site of when James Maddison was aged about five and already displaying great skills with a football. I find it unfathomable why we didn't have a defensive midfielder to man mark Maddison from the start of the game.

Dick: Coventry's strikers have to learn how to hold up the ball so the midfield can catch up. Time after time they turned over the ball before Rudoni or Sakamoto could help out. Poor attacking display. Rushworth looked poor. The third goal he dived like a sack of potatoes.

Victor: To be honest I am disappointed by the way we didn't compete. Thought we were poor going forward and the defence looks shaky apart from Thomas and Pinnock. Goalie is not as comfortable as last year. Big games coming up.

Lee: Some strange decisions. Grimes is too slow, lightweight and was hiding for two goals, BTA is a headless chicken, we should've started better players if we're serious about staying in this league.

Terence: Relegation I'm afraid. I reckon we will get 30 points.

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard, spoke to BBC Sport after his side's defeat by Tottenham: "Very pleased with the performance. We were in the game to say the least. Two outstanding goals for them, the second was questionable because the arm up in the face but quality finish.

"I am proud of the performance. 3-1 feels nasty at the end because of the last goal. We created some good moments. We wanted to start well as they start well in every game they have played here but haven't got what they deserved.

"The feeling and flow of the game we were brave and getting people up on their top line. Individuals were showing their quality with [Jack] Rudoni and [Brandon] Thomas-Asante - eight of the boys played in the Championship last year and now they have shown they have grown.

"I don't like the fixture list game, they are all hard. Are we happy? We will always want more, we feel there's a couple more points we felt we could have had.

"This result won't affect us. I can speak positively about the defeat tonight because I saw the performance. I will bring the lads back down to earth in way to say we have to produce this now. We've moved on a lot, Fulham will come and give us different problems and expectations."

• Listen to more from Lampard, speaking to BBC CWR, on BBC Sounds here

Coventry goalscorer Jack Rudoni, speaking to Sky Sports: "Yeah it's frustrating, we felt we did well as a team. We took the game plan to them well. At the end it really could've been 2-2. We've got to take the positives. We have a big game on Saturday so we'll just look at the positives and get ready for that."

On Coventry producing shot on target: "Maybe the clinical edge and sometimes stuff just doesn't fall for you and that's football. All we can do is keep applying the pressure and working hard in the right areas and stuff. We're away from home. They're a good team. They're league position probably doesn't reflect where they are.

"Maybe we dropped a little bit deep, I don't know. It's frustrating to concede after we got the equaliser. It was tough. You just have to work hard to keep solid and get a second. But like I said they have quality, we have to nullify that as much as we can. I thought we applied pressure well and on another night it's 2-2 and we come away with a point."

On the next few games: "I think we've shown we can compete and like you say it's the little differences like shots on target. We've shown we can compete we just needs to get points on the board. We need to really get points on the board."

Hit play below to hear more from Rudoni, speaking to BBC CWR, or listen on BBC Sounds here

Did you know?

• Rudoni became the first player to score in back-to-back Premier League appearances for Coventry since John Hartson netted in four consecutive games between March and April 2001.

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Frank Lampard's Coventry City came into the match against Tottenham in confident mood after they had defeated Nottingham Forest and played superbly to beat Newcastle 4-1 at home a week ago.

Brandon Thomas-Asante got into a good position inside the opening 20 seconds, but his dangerous cross was cut out by home goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto had an effort deflected over by Jan Paul van Hecke and only a superb sliding challenge from Micky van de Ven denied Thomas-Asante a shooting chance.

Jack Rudoni, who also scored in the win over Newcastle, got a goal back but that proved to be Coventry's only shot on target.

After quickly conceding again, the visitors had plenty of possession, but Lampard will be disappointed they could not test Kinsky again and never really looked like scoring an equaliser.

Coventry drop to 17th, and have two vital home games this month against sides below them - Fulham on Saturday and Sunderland seven days later.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Coventry City starting XI:

Carl Rushworth: No chance with first two goals but a horror show for the third from Ben Davies. 5

Milan van Ewijk: Long throws a threat, especially in the first half. Caught an elbow when trying to challenge Marmoush for his goal. 6

Bobby Thomas: Vital headed clearance and tower of strength in defence. 7

Ethan Pinnock: Another dependable performance as Coventry looked solid and well-organised at the back. 6

Jay Dasilva: Quiet night. Booked for challenge on Kudus. 5

Caleb Yirenkyi: Not able to exert much influence and was substituted. Booked for a poor challenge on Gray. 5

Matt Grimes: Always busy but not able to have a significant impact. 5

Brandon Thomas-Asante: Industrious and was only denied a goal by Van de Ven's superb first-half tackle. 6

Jack Rudoni: Showed great determination to bustle his way through for his goal. 7

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto: Some dangerous deliveries and had a good chance in the first half. 6

Sidiki Cherif: Some nice lay-offs and full of effort. Hurt his shoulder in an awkward fall. 6

Coventry City substitutes:

Frank Onyeka (on, 60 Yirenkyi): No effect. 5

Taiwo Awoniyi (on 60, Cherif): Bustling but unable to provide threat. 5

Ephron Mason-Clark (on 78, Thomas-Asante).

Gustavo Hamer (on 78, Sakamoto).

Kaine Kesler-Hayden (on 87, Rudoni).

Subs not used: Bentley, Simms, Mfuni, Torp.

Read the full article and see how you rated the players