Much is expected of Coventry this season following some very productive signings in the off-season. They began the season with a disappointing away loss to Stoke and it was not a strong performance by their standards. However, the manager will ensure they are fired up for their maiden home match of the campaign in front of a big crowd.

Whilst Oxford created a big impression when defeating Norwich in their first match last weekend, that was at home and as such they need to know prove themselves on the road at this level. So often this is the biggest issue for promoted teams coming out of League One. Even so, Des Buckingham’s side were not ranked in the top-six in terms of away records in the league below last season. They should be competitive but at times they may give off the impression of rabbits in the headlights.

Another interesting fact from the previous campaign was how Coventry only lost six times at Coventry Building Society Arena in league action and that four of those came in April or later when their season was petering out into mid-table obscurity. They would defeat newly promoted clubs Rotherham and Plymouth in 2023/24 without conceding. Also, only once did they lose a league home fixture against a team positioned in the bottom-half.

Sky Blues manager Mark Robins prides his Coventry team on better aggressive going forward. He wants them to create chances, put the opposition under big pressure and ultimately score goals. They fell too short of those standards at Stoke and it really can’t be emphasised how much he will demand more from them. The expectation is they’ll be fast out of the blocks in this one.

A fast start is particularly advantageous to City, which is based on their record in the Championship last season when opening the scoring in home league contests. That returned seven victories, three draws and just one defeat when netting goal number one, and no doubt that will have been drilled into this team ahead of this clash on Friday night.

The U’s did not have the best of records on their travels when facing the brighter light in League One despite winning promotion. In the regular season, it was three defeats out of a possible four versus the top-four; two of which were heavy and convincing losses. Struggling to impose their style in those big away games doesn’t bode well for their first Championship assignment on the road.

What is very worth highlighting is that whilst this is not a particular regular fixture over recent years, it was played last season in a Third Round FA Cup tie. This clash was the first since 2019, and it was worth the wait for Coventry considering they ran out commanding 6-2 winners at home.

Although Robins’ men have more often than not proved hard to beat at Coventry Building Society Arena, that doesn’t mean they haven’t showcased some defensive shortcomings that will afford some hope for any team that faces them here. That is because across their previous 14 at home in all competitions, 100% contained at least three goals.

Oxford showcased in the Norwich game that they can be a goal threat at this level. They’d naturally expect that to improve the more their new signings further gel together. However, the vast majority of last season’s team remains in place, and the fact they averaged 1.60 goals per League One regulation season match under the management of Buckingham proves they know what it takes to score goals.

Again focusing on Coventry’s exploits playing at home, not only can a case be made for goals but also for the opposition contributing to the goal tally. Bases specifically on the previous 14 league encounters Coventry have played at home, a total of ten would see both teams score.

Although Oxford have definitely impressed under Buckingham to the point of winning promotion after many, many years out of the Championship, the fact is they’re conceded an average of 1.33 goals based upon league regulation season fixtures. With Oxford not yet proven at this level and playing their first away match of the campaign, their offensive approach will open the door for an open kind of match that’ll make them potentially vulnerable defensively.

Oxford also demonstrated their vulnerability in League One last season by keeping only two away clean sheets in the regulation season against clubs that finished 19th and above. With his market often tying in so closely with over 2.5 goals, the expected tactical approach of the two coaches here means both goalkeepers are expected to be busy.

It is easy to forget that Ellis Simms has only really had one proper full season as a regular starter, which was last season. He enjoyed a handy return of 19 goals in all competitions and the 23-year-old will be hoping to go even better this time around. In midweek, he netted the winner as Coventry progressed beyond Bristol City in the Carabao Cup.

After a slow start in 2023/24, he proved later on in the campaign that he tends to score his goals in patches. Between the February draw at Plymouth and the home win over Leeds a few months later in April he helped himself to 12 goals. This was in the space of 11 appearances for the former Everton youngster. The hope is that he can repeat something similar having grabbed his first goal of the season on Tuesday.

Returning an average per 90 minutes of 0.49 goals last season is roughly a return of a goal every other game, which is most impressive. The fact he would do so from an average per 90 minutes of 2.47 shots on goal highlights how clinical he is in front of goal.

It is clear and obvious how highly rated Tyler Goodrham is by Oxford manager Des Buckingham. So much so, he has effectively changed his position from last season to this in order to keep him in the team. This season he is playing in a wider role, which comes after playing a key role in their promotion campaign mainly as an attacking midfielder.

In midweek, Goodrham found the back of the net from a total of three shots on goal, two of which were on target. Across the 2023/24 league season, including play-offs, the talented forward started 26 games in total, during which he would average 0.69 shots on target. Considering in seven of those he hit two or more, it highlights how handy he is in getting accurate shots away on goal.

The 21-year-old would occasionally play wide in that campaign as well, but in this season, where he would have worked more specifically on this position in pre-season, he is already averaging a shot on target per game, albeit from a small sample size. Still, this could be a taste of things to come from an exciting player.

The expectation is that this should be quite an open and entertaining contest between two attack-minded teams. The hope is that the two teams combined, or potentially even one alone, should rather comfortably produce a minimum of nine corners in Friday’s match.

Coventry are currently averaging 7.50 corners awarded and Oxford 6.50 corners awarded per match in all competitions. Taking both them and the opposition into account, Sky Blues contests are seeing 16.50 corners per match, whilst for The U’s it reads 12.00. Although these are from a short sample size, it proves they’re in the habit of playing in such a way that attracts corners; for and against.

Even taking the average corner count, again for or against, from last season’s league action, Coventry games saw 11.55 corners, whilst for Oxford in League One it was 10.44. It would really be going against the grain if this encounter failed to get over this corner count.