Tottenham fans and players will be desperate to turn their poor form around as they embark on their Carabao Cup campaign on Wednesday.
Coventry v Tottenham presents a chance for Spurs to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat to rivals Arsenal on home soil at the weekend, but Mark Robins’ Sky Blues will be hoping to make it another miserable outing for big Ange’s side.
Coventry have had a mixed start to the season, winning only one game, but form rarely matters when it comes to cup football. Our tipster, Shane O’Brien, has examined the markets to see where the value lies.
Coventry v Tottenham tips
Under 2.5 goals
Haji Wright to score
The Draw
WHEN: Wednesday, September 17th, 8pm
WHERE: Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Under 2.5 Goals
Spurs looked short of ideas in their North London Derby defeat against Arsenal on Sunday, never really troubling the Arsenal goal despite boasting two-thirds of possession.
Coventry will obviously not be as defensively sound as Arsenal, but Sunday’s North London Derby was not an isolated incident for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Spurs have scored one goal or fewer in three of their four league games so far this season, only finding their cutting edge against an Everton side that has conceded 13 goals in their opening four league games.
Son Heung-Min is the only Spurs attacker to score in any of their first four league games, and Postecoglou is likely to rotate his frontline.
Coventry, on the other hand, have scored one goal or fewer in six of their seven games this season.
They have advanced to the third round of the League Cup courtesy of back-to-back 1-0 victories and there is a good chance that Wednesday’s clash with Tottenham will be equally low-scoring.
Coventry went goal-crazy last season en route to reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and were within a hair’s breadth of shocking Manchester United in Wembley. However, they only came into that game after United suffered the mother of all collapses. Their best chance of causing an upset on Wednesday night is by restricting the number of chances that Spurs have and nicking a goal at the other end.
Haji Wright to score
It was Haji Wright’s 95th-minute penalty that brought last season’s FA Cup semi-final to extra-time, while it was also Wright’s dramatic late winner that sealed a famous win over Wolves in the quarter-finals.
Wright has only scored twice this season, with both goals coming in Coventry’s 3-2 win over Oxford last month. In typical fashion, he popped up with a 96th-minute winner on that occasion to hand Coventry what has been their only league win of the season to date.
The American forward finished as Coventry’s joint top-scorer last season and has established himself as a man for a cup goal against Premier League opposition. He is a tempting price to find the back of the net.
Draw
Spurs and Coventry have found it equally difficult to win games this season, with both sides recording just one league victory at this early stage.
Granted, Coventry have won two more games in the League Cup, but they have only faced Championship opposition. They will find the going a lot tougher against an opponent of Spurs’ quality, even if Postecoglou does rest players.
Spurs come into this game following back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Arsenal and could do with a win to restore confidence ahead of what is already a must-win home game against Brentford at the weekend.
However, confidence will be low after Sunday, and they will meet stubborn opposition in a Coventry side eager to replicate their cup heroics of last season.
This one could be headed for penalties.
Coventry v Tottenham tips
Under 2.5 goals
Haji Wright to score
Draw
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