Sky Blues at the Turf

Last updated : 17 February 2009 By Tony Scholes

A win tonight would definitely move us up two places and could be even further depending on Bristol City's result and the margin of any win for the Clarets.

I said on Saturday it was time to crack on and see where it takes us. We all know where we want it to take us and a good result here would give us a big lift ahead of a trip to Norwich this coming Saturday.

Three points would also see us complete a double over Coventry, our first of the season, and it was the same club we completed the first of two doubles against last season also in February.

Our Opponents


Coventry currently sit six places below us in the table with ten points less although they have played one game less. Like ourselves they are still in the FA Cup and were close to going through to the sixth round on Saturday but conceded a late equaliser against Blackburn.

Like ourselves their last league game was a home game against Wolves and like us they won it despite some very strange decisions from a referee called Oliver.

Away from home they have lost just six out of fifteen and have recorded wins at Barnsley, Birmingham, Sheffield Wednesday and more recently at Charlton that last win coming in December.

Click HERE to see all Coventry's results this season


They are currently eleven points behind the play offs and ten points ahead of the relegation places and that sees them very much in mid table, a position I would think they will achieve come the end of the season.

Team News


Coventry have former Walsall defender Scott Dann back tonight. He's been out with a dislocated shoulder but returns for James McPake who is out with a groin injury.

There's further good news with Stephen Wright back in the right back slot. He missed the cup tie with the food poisoning that hit the club but will return at the expense of Isaac Osbourne who himself is coming back from injury.

Elliott Ward played on Saturday despite being another to suffer from the dodgy chicken but he has no chance tonight as he suffers because of his exertions in the cup tie. Keiren Westwood, Ben Turner and David Bell though are both ready to return. The other notable absentee is Leon McKenzie who is close to fitness and could be ready for Saturday.

Keiren Westwood, Stephen Wright, Scott Dann, Ben Turner, Daniel Fox, Jordan Henderson, Michael Doyle, Aron Gunnarsson, David Bell, Freddy Eastwood, Clinton Morrison. Subs from: Andy Marshall, Marcus Hall, Robbie Simpson, Kevin Thornton, Guillaume Beuzelin, Ashley Cain, Leon Best.

Click HERE to see the full Coventry squad


Owen Coyle will have to figure without left back Christian Kalvenes tonight. He was forced off with a groin injury on Saturday with just over twenty minutes left and looks to have no chance of making it.

The good news is that as one left back goes out another one returns. Kalvenes has been in since Stephen Jordan went off injured in the Carling Cup second leg against Spurs. But Jordan is back in training and it would be a surprise if he didn't go straight back in tonight.

I can't see there being many changes if any and we are likely to line up: Brian Jensen, Rhys Williams, Michael Duff, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott, Graham Alexander, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake, Steven Thompson, Martin Paterson. Subs from: Diego Penny, Joey Gudjonsson, Kevin McDonald, Chris Eagles, Jay Rodriguez.

Last Season


Steven Caldwell
Steven Caldwell - scored his first Burnley goal
The home game last season, also on a Tuesday night, was played in miserable conditions. It was a cold, cold night, there were gale force winds and the Turf Moor pitch was looking something of a mess.

It didn't suggest a classic and that's how it proved, but we won it 2-0 and that was all important as we continued to chase a play off place.

The first goal came midway through the first half and maybe we were a bit fortunate. Steven Caldwell, in a deep position, headed a right wing corner back into the middle but it did look as though Kyle Lafferty handled it. We got away with that and Clarke Carlisle had a shot blocked. It didn't matter though as Chris McCann hammered home from close range.

Ade Akinbiyi, who was in good form, set up James O'Connor but the midfielder's effort from the edge of the box was blocked. That would have been two in two minutes and the game would have been won.

In the end we had to wait until five minutes from the end for the second. Again it came from a corner, again headed by Caldwell, but this time the captain went for goal and scored for the first time in a Burnley shirt.

The win took us to fifty points, and just two places outside the top six. A year ago we couldn't kick on from there and won only one of the next six games. This time hopefully we'll make more of the opportunity.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Jon Harley, Wade Elliott, James O'Connor, Joey Gudjonsson (Mark Randall 58), Chris McCann, Kyle Lafferty (Robbie Blake 78), Ade Akinbiyi (John Spicer 89). Subs not used: Gabor Kiraly, David Unsworth.

Coventry: Andy Marshall, Isaac Osbourne, Elliott Ward, Daniel Fox, Marcus Hall, Michael Mifsud, Kevin Thornton, Jay Tabb (Robbie Simpson 70), Michael Hughes, Julian Gray, Leon Best. Subs not used: Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, Scott Dann, Chris Birchall, Wayne Andrews.

Previous games against Coventry


Previous 20 Seasons

Season

Div

Ven

Result

Att

Scorers

1999/2000

FAC

a

0-3

22,774

.

2001/02

1

a

2-0

16,849

Taylor Little

..

h

1-0

18,751

Taylor

2002/03

1

h

3-1

13,470

Blake(pen) Grant Davenport(og)

.

.

a

1-0

13,659

Cox

2003/04

1

h

1-2

10,358

Blake

..

a

0-4

12,953

.

2004/05

C

h

2-2

10,919

Blake(pen) Branch

.

.

a

2-0

13,236

Oster Moore

2005/06

C

h

4-0

11,683

G O'Connor Thomas Akinbiyi(2)

..

a

0-1

19,641

.

2006/07

C

a

0-1

18,362

.

.

.

h

1-2

12,830

McVeigh

2007/08

C

a

2-1

17,347

Akinbiyi Blake

..

h

2-0

9,779

McCann Caldwell

2008/09

C

a

3-1

14,621

Duff Blake Eagles



Click HERE to see all our results against Coventry