Meet the opposition | Coventry City
As Swansea City get set to take on Coventry City, we take a closer look at the Sky Blues.
What's their story?
Singers FC was formed in 1883 by a group of men at the Singer Factory Gentleman’s Club, and five years later they changed the team name to Coventry City. After 11 years competing in the Southern League, they were elected to the Football League in 1919.
Between 1925 and 1958 Coventry spent their time between non-league and the EFL but, under the guidance of manager Jimmy Hill, they manufactured a meteoric rise in the early 1960s and reached the top tier for the first time in 1967.
The Sky Blues remained there for 34 years before suffering relegation in 2001. They dropped to Sky Bet League One just over a decade later and, in 2017, they were relegated to League Two.
The appointment of Mark Robins as manager (for the second time) proved to be a shrewd one. They spent just one season in the fourth tier under him before earning promotion via the play-offs in 2018. The Sky Blues went on to become champions of the curtailed 2019-20 League One season on a points per game basis.
They have impressed since returning to the second tier and were beaten play-off finalists when they lost to Luton Town back in May 2023.
Coventry's only major trophy came in 1987 when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup, with Keith Houchen's diving header proving one of the iconic Wembley goals.
And the Sky Blues progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since their 1986–87 FA Cup victory with a 3–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last term.
How's their form?
The Sky Blues have won their last three league games in a row, beating Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers and Watford.
They have lost just one of their last seven in the Championship. and have climbed to within six points of the play-off places.
Who's the gaffer?
Frank Lampard. The former Chelsea legend took over from Mark Robins in November as he returned to coaching in the Championship for the first time since his first managerial position with Derby County.
A former Swansea player, Lampard made 11 appearances for the south Wales side in 1995-96 during a loan spell from West Ham.
The former midfield maestro amassed over 600 career appearances in the Premier League with Manchester City, Chelsea and West Ham, netting 177 times in the process.
Lampard has won every major club honour with the former England international claiming three league titles, as well as four FA cups, two League cups, a Europa League and Champions League victory over a decorated 21-year playing career.
He took Derby to the play-off final, but they suffered defeat to Aston Villa.
He took charge at Chelsea in that summer of 2019 and won plaudits for introducing a number of academy products as they finished fourth and reached the FA Cup final.
They started the following season strongly but he left Stamford Bridge in January 2021, going on to manage Everton, dramatically guiding them to Premier League survival in 2022 courtesy of a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.
After leaving Goodison Park, he returned to Chelsea as interim manager, before making the move to the Sky Blues.
Who's the captain?
Ben Sheaf. Former Arsenal player Sheaf is industrious in the middle of the park, keeping them ticking over and sweeping up play to allow those ahead of him to cause problems.
As technically gifted as you would expect of a Gunners' academy product, he made his senior debut against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League back in 2017.
Loan spells with Stevenage and Doncaster followed, before he made the initial loan move to the CBS Arena in the summer of 2020.
His showings convinced then manager Mark Robins to make the deal permanent the following summer and he has been a regular ever since.
Who are the key men?
Ellis Sims
Striker Simms joined Everton as a 16-year-old and enjoyed three successful loan spells away from Goodison Park at Blackpool, Heart of Midlothian and Sunderland.
He netted seven goals in 17 games for Sunderland before being recalled by Everton in January 2023, for whom he would feature 11 times and score once in the top-flight – a vital late equaliser against Chelsea - before the campaign was out.
He scored 19 goals in 53 appearances for Coventry last season and has notched four goals and two assists so far this time round.
Simms' fellow forward Haji Wright had been enjoying another fine season for the Sky Blues, netting seven league goals, before an ankle ligament injury that he is only just returning from.
Jack Rudoni
Midfielder Jack Rudoni proved an influential figure at previous club Huddersfield, and has wasted no time establishing himself with the Sky Blues since his arrival last summer.
He has three goals and eight assists against his name for the 2024-25 campaign to date,
The 23-year-old joined the Terriers in 2022 from AFC Wimbledon, and straight away became a regular at the John Smith's Stadium, playing all 46 Championship games in his first season.
Rudoni was on the books of Crystal Palace as a youngster, but joined Wimbledon after being released by the Eagles as an 11-year-old.
He signed his first pro deal in 2019, and impressed despite their relegation to League Two, scoring 10 goals.
Milan van Ewijk
Dutch full-back Milan van Ewijk has been one of Coventry’s most-consistent performers since his arrival from Heerenveen in July 2023.
Having come through the youth ranks with Feyenoord, he left the Rotterdam club for Excelsior Maassluis, and made his senior breakthrough for them.
His professional break came when he moved to ADO Den Haag in 2019. He spent two seasons on their books, including a loan spell with Cambuur in the Eerste Division, before he went to Heerenveen.
His showings there attracted the interests of a number of clubs, but Coventry were the ones to secure his signature and he featured in all-bar four of their league games last season, creating five goals and scoring two.
He also helped the Sky Blues reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and played every minute of their agonising defeat to Manchester United on penalties at Wembley.
He has started every Championship fixture this term, continuing to be defensively solid and a forward-thinking passer.