Tottenham’s 2024/25 trophy hunt begins on Wednesday night as they take on Championship side Coventry in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Ange Postecoglou stuck his neck on the line in the aftermath of his side’s disappointing north London derby on Sunday, reasserting that his teams “always” win something in his second second at the helm.
Tottenham, however, have made a slow start to the campaign on the points front, accumulating just four from as many Premier League outings. Postecoglou’s side have offered signs of progress from a control perspective, but they’ve struggled to create high-quality chances in the final third.
Their unproductive start and the club’s desperation to finally claim silverware mean Wednesday’s game is a pretty significant one for Postecoglou.
The north Londoners are travelling to a Coventry side that entered the season with hopes of staging a promotion charge, but their start to 2024/25 has been similarly indifferent. Mark Robins’ side, who were on the brink of reaching the FA Cup final last season, currently sit 14th in the Championship. A 1-0 win over Oxford United saw them progress into the third round of this competition.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third round tie.
Coventry vs Tottenham H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Coventry |
Tottenham |
|---|---|
|
Watford 1-1 Coventry – 14/09/24 |
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal – 15/09/24 |
|
Coventry 0-1 Norwich – 31/08/24 |
Newcastle 2-1 Arsenal – 01/09/24 |
|
Coventry 1-0 Oxford United – 27/08/24 |
Tottenham 4-0 Everton – 24/08/24 |
|
Bristol City 1-1 Coventry – 24/08/24 |
Leicester 1-1 Tottenham – 19/09/24 |
|
Coventry 3-2 Oxford United – 16/08/24 |
Tottenham 2-3 Bayern Munich – 10/08/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Go, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports+, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
Paramount+ |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
Star midfielder Ben Sheaf is a big absence for the home side, but there’s hope he will be back in action by the end of the month.
Joel Latibeaudiere picked up a knock during Coventry’s 1-1 draw with Watford at the weekend and is now a doubt for Wednesday’s cup tie. Robins also won’t be able to call upon Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Raphael Borges Rodrigues in midweek.
The man responsible for firing Coventry into the third round, Brandon Thomas-Asante, may be forced to have an impact off the bench against Spurs.
Coventry predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-5-1): Wilson; Van Ewijk, Binks, Thomas, Bidwell; Allen, Eccles, Mason-Clark, Rudoni, Wright; Simms.
Tottenham’s schedule is set to condense with the start of the Europa League right around the corner, but supporters would like to see Ange name a pretty strong starting XI for this domestic cup clash.
Richarlison remains out for the away side and it’s not yet known when he’ll be fit again, while Yves Bissouma is unlikely to play after missing Sunday’s derby.
Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall should make their first starts of the season after shining in pre-season, with Dominic Solanke continuing up top in a bid to get up to speed following a couple of weeks out.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Coventry (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, Davies; Gray, Sarr, Bergvall; Kulusevski, Solanke, Odobert.
This is a big game for Ange. An early cup exit would pile the pressure on the Tottenham manager following a disappointing start to the new season.
Coventry have also begun slowly, but they impressed at Vicarage Road on Saturday and should’ve walked away with all three points. This is a team that should be competing towards the top of the Championship, and their FA Cup antics mean they certainly won’t fear their visitors.
While a home win wouldn’t be a complete shock, we’ll back the visitors to get things right in the final third on Wednesday to sail into the fourth round.