Renewed home comforts not enough on opening day
Coventry City will finally be back at their own stadium (now dubbed the Coventry Building Society Arena), complete with fans, for the 2021/2022 EFL Championship calendar. On Sunday afternoon, they will entertain a Nottingham Forest outfit that some pundits have tagged as dark horses to gain promotion to the Premier League after a long hiatus. Read our preview here:
Tyler's first rule of strike club
Sky Blues boss Mark Robins will want to ensure a similar lower mid-table finish in his second season at the helm in the Championship, but that will prove tricky in a division where money is getting ever less common, a reality exacerbated by the pandemic. Faith will be placed in forward Tyler Walker to hit double figures, and he'll be joined up top by new face Martyn Waghorn for Saturday, with Bright Enobakhare back in England and at the West Midlands outfit permanently after a jaunt in the I-League with East Bengal. The 3-4-1-2 will have Callum O'Hare pulling the strings once more, and he'll need the midfielders further back to beat the visitors' press to avoid being smothered.
Magic Johnson
Youngster Brennan Johnson had a breakout season on loan at third tier Lincoln City, scoring 11 league goals from out wide in his first full senior campaign. That would've done him the world of good, and his immediate future is also extremely bright; he'll be on the left of an attacking three in Chris Hughton's team. Though not ostensibly a provider, he should forge a good understanding with Lewis Grabban, who was Forest top scorer with a pitiful six in 2020/2021. This term should be different, though some of the fruit might take a while to reveal itself with a firm emphasis on academy graduates being heavily involved from the outset.
Brighter Hughs
Sunday might not be a goalfest, and often too much can be read into opening day games, with fans desperate for some early cheer. Cov's supporters' mood might be tempered slightly be a reverse on Sunday - betway have odds of 3.10 for a Forest away win.
