Match Pack: Coventry City v Watford

• Coventry City v Watford
• Sky Bet Championship
• Coventry Building Society Arena
• Saturday September 2, 3pm KO
• Yellow and black home kit

• Referee: David Webb
• Assistant Referees: Rob Smith and Andrew Dallison
• Fourth Official: Darren Drysdale

A limited number of away tickets will be available to purchase from turnstiles 1-5 at the CBS Arena on the day of the match, Saturday September 2.

Please note that while the rest of the CBS Arena is now cashless, the sale of these tickets will be cash only. Ticket prices will be the same as for those bought in advance. Please click HERE for more information.

Please also be aware that Watford FC will have no record of any tickets bought via pay-on-the-day, and as such these purchases will not be included in any data used when creating Ticket Buying Groups for this and future seasons.

Car parking for the match at the CBS Arena can be purchased HERE and HERE.

Coventry City might only be 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table, but they are unbeaten since an opening-day loss against top-of-the-table Leicester City. A win against Middlesbrough was followed up by important points against Swansea City and Sunderland, despite crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle to AFC Wimbledon.

After just missing out on promotion to the Premier League following defeat to Luton Town on penalties in the Championship play-off final last term, the Sky Blues will be hoping to continue their early momentum as they aim to go one step beyond this campaign.

• Watford have one win in their last eight league matches against Coventry (D5 L2) - a 3-2 home triumph in November 2020.

• The Sky Blues are unbeaten in their last four home league games against Watford (W1 D3), although the previous three have all ended in draws.

• The Hornets haven’t drawn four successive away league games against a side since doing so against Blackpool in May 2008 - the only previous occasion they have done so in the 21st century.

For a full statistical breakdown, check out Stats Buzz: Coventry City In Numbers.

Francisco Sierralta is back in training and is hoping to be involved after missing Watford’s last two league clashes. Jamal Lewis won’t be fit though, with his first appearance for the club earmarked for the home game against Birmingham City (Saturday September 16, 3pm KO).

For Coventry, attacking midfielder Callum O’Hare will be absent, with the 25-year-old expected back in the latter stages of September following a serious cruciate ligament injury.

Valérien Ismaël, Watford Head Coach:

“We know that bumpy roads can happen in the Championship, but we are all aligned at the club, we know we are working well and working hard, we just need to keep going.

“Coventry have been stable in the Championship for a few years now, with the same manager and a clear way to play. They did very well last year, and have had to be active in the transfer market to replace important players.

“We know we’re going to have to be on our game, and we want to see our identity in and out of possession and create chances, but this time take the next step and score the goals we need to win the game.”

Click HERE to see Ismaël’s full pre-match press conference.

Mark Robins, Coventry City Manager:

“I think this will probably be our toughest game. They’re a good side, they’ve got a lot of quality and they’re young. They’ve only got a few players that are over 30 years of age, and they’ve got some exciting young talent.

“We think we know what they’re going to do because of what we’ve seen so far, but people can change and generally it’s about you and how you can react to certain situations.”

Overall:

Won: 42
Drawn: 18
Lost: 37

Last Six:

April 2023: Coventry City 2-2 Watford (Championship)
November 2022: Watford 0-1 Coventry City (Championship)
February 2021: Coventry City 0-0 Watford (Championship)
November 2020: Watford 3-2 Coventry City (Championship)
August 2019: Watford 3-0 Coventry City (League Cup)
March 2012: Watford 0-0 Coventry City (Championship)

Watford’s last win away to Coventry City came in May 2010 when a Danny Graham brace, followed by Henri Lansbury and Marvin Sordell goals, powered the Hornets to an emphatic 4-0 final-day thumping.