Big-spending Man City heavy favourites against Lampard's struggling Coventry

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/coventry-GOvB22xg/manchester-city-Wtn9Stg0/?mid=2sLj8RMt"]This will be the first meeting in any competition[/a] between the two teams since March 2002, when both were in the English second tier, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]City[/a] won 4-2 at Maine Road.[/p][p]You have to go back even further for the last Premier League meeting (2000/01), a season in which both sides were relegated.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2]Lampard has only one EPL win from his last 19 games[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/coventry/GOvB22xg/"]Sky Blues[/a] fans might be approaching the game with a certain amount of trepidation, too, given that Lampard has won only four of his last 32 Premier League matches (D8, L20), including just one of his last 19 in the competition (D4, L14), which was a 3-1 win at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bournemouth/OtpNdwrc/"]Bournemouth[/a] as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chelsea/4fGZN2oK/"]Chelsea[/a] caretaker manager in May 2023.[/p][p]Furthermore, City could win their opening three EPL games for the third time in four seasons (they also did so in 2023/24 and 2024/25), and could make it two home league wins from their opening two matches for the fifth time in six seasons with a victory.[/p][video alt="Manchester City vs Coventry (video preview)" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="1e6ce866-0d47-4f59-8787-0895e57f6265" id="b33672a8-0eb9-444a-9f75-e93623a5ddf8" /][p]The hosts are unbeaten in their last 30 league games against newly promoted sides (W27 D3), with their last loss coming in April 2021 when succumbing to Marcelo Bielsa’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds United[/a].[/p][p]Enzo Maresca also has his own point to prove, given that his most recent game against a newly-promoted team saw his Chelsea side beaten 3-1, coincidentally by Leeds.[/p][h2]City haven't beaten Coventry in their last eight top-flight games[/h2][p]It might be clutching at straws, but Lampard will want to remind his players that the hosts have won just one of their last eight top-flight games against Coventry (D4, L4), and you have to go right the way back to 1992/93 for their last victory over the Sky Blues in the top tier.[/p][p]Coventry will certainly need to play better than their 3-0 loss at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] and the 1-0 home reverse against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hull-city/S66R0t75/"]Hull City[/a] if they want to take even a point back to the Midlands.[/p][image alt="Man City vs Coventry City - Recent head-to-head results (all competitions)" id="ddd72197-3da4-4f73-b007-43eddae27c7c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="81668808-c11e-41f7-bbbe-e7be4af6f7b4" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Lose again, and it will be the fifth time they’ll have lost the opening three games in a league season, something that also occurred in the 1919/20, 1949/50, 1968/69 and 2011/12 campaigns.[/p][p]Importantly, they've never lost their opening three matches of a season without finding the net, so the onus is on the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/awoniyi-taiwo/OWFf8WFm/"]Taiwo Awoniyi[/a] to get their shooting boots on.[/p][h2]Haaland loves playing newly promoted teams[/h2][p]One player that will have no trouble with doing just that is City’s goal-scoring machine: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a].[/p][p]The Norwegian man-mountain has scored 19 goals in 20 Premier League appearances against newly promoted sides, and whilst this will be his first game against Coventry, Haaland has scored against 23 of the 24 teams he’s faced so far, only not doing so against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunderland/WSzc94ws/"]Sunderland[/a].[/p][embed guid="c857eff5-248f-4043-9713-f727043a2095" url="https://x.com/ManCity/status/2095195052549026016" social-type="twitter" /][p]It isn’t just Haaland that Lampard and his squad should be worried about, however.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cherki-mathis/vm0eu2V3/"]Rayan Cherki[/a] has four goal contributions in two Premier League games this season (2G, 2A), and overall in the competition, the Frenchman has 15 in 20 starts (5G, 10A).[/p][h2]Difficult assignment for the Sky Blues[/h2][p]New boy, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/anderson-elliott/KdYCbsbE/"]Elliot Anderson[/a], has also shown what he’s all about so far this season, as he managed three interceptions, five tackles, the winning back of possession on five occasions and 100 passes attempted in the game against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a] - the first City midfielder to earn those numbers in a game on Opta record (since 2003/04).[/p][p]Both teams like to play an attractive passing game, so this is one the neutral is likely to enjoy too, with City leading the way in the top flight for successful passes (1,315), 94.6% of which have been short, which is the highest ratio in the league.[/p][image alt="Man City vs Coventry City - Win Probability" id="b605acf3-1f7b-4b8f-9ee6-425ff03662e3" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f62d551b-7ba5-497f-9bd7-ee619d884248" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]To give more context as to just how difficult an assignment this could be for the Sky Blues, City are also top for pass completion (90.9%) and passing accuracy while under high-intensity pressure (85.8%).[/p][p]Injury-wise, both [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doku-jeremy/lMHcYK4f/"]Jeremy Doku[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/matheus-nunes/bXbvxFWS/"]Matheus Nunes[/a] are expected to return for the hosts, handing City a clean bill of health, whilst record signing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-enzo/nZnbEVWP/"]Enzo Fernandez[/a] could be given a home debut.[/p][p]Coventry still can’t call upon the services of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wright-haji/2sBknLJl/"]Haji Wright[/a], Kaine Kessler-Hayden and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/woolfenden-luke/lxnQB0Eb/"]Luke Woolfenden[/a], whilst [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onyeka-ogochukwu/trmcDRt1/"]Frank Onyeka[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thomas-bobby/6PCT4GfF/"]Bobby Thomas[/a] both face late fitness tests.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]