Coventry are currently enduring their worst run of form this season after a 1-0 defeat at league leaders Burnley last weekend extended their winless streak to five matches in all competitions.
It must be said that two of the four Championship matches in that run have been against the division’s top two outfits, but there is no such excuse for the embarrassing 4-3 loss to Wrexham in the third round of the FA Cup.
A much-changed Coventry side struggled to contain their fifth-tier counterparts, and although first-team regulars such as Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer came off the bench, Mark Robins’s men were unable to book their place in the fourth-round draw.
The Sky Blues have won just one of their seven Championship matches since returning from the month-long World Cup break – although that victory was a notable one, with Gyokeres’s late penalty condemning Carlos Corberan to his only loss as West Bromwich Albion manager so far.
The current winless streak and the form of others has seen Robins’s men drift to six points behind the playoffs, with the Sky Blues now sitting 15th in the league standings – although a win on Saturday could move Coventry as high as 10th.
Norwich recorded their biggest win of the campaign and their first under the stewardship of David Wagner last weekend as they hammered Preston North End 4-0 at Deepdale.
Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell both scored twice in Lancashire to ensure a convincing victory, one that will have improved the mood in East Anglia after a tricky start to the season under Dean Smith.
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Winning the title in their last two seasons in the Championship, the Canaries were aiming to be challenging again at the very summit of the division, but they now face a real battle to earn a playoff place in an extremely competitive second tier.
Wagner was the man to guide Huddersfield Town to the Premier League during his three-year stint in Yorkshire, but at Carrow Road, he has a fanbase to contend with that will be demanding their side achieve promotion this season.
With second-placed Sheffield United 13 points ahead of Norwich heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, Wagner’s side need to string a significant number of wins together to give themselves any hope of joining the Blades and league leaders Burnley in a top-two race.
