Coventry vs Newcastle: still no home goal for Coventry

Coventry City vs Newcastle United closes matchday six at 20:00 BST on Monday 12 October, at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Coventry have one goal all season, and it won them their first match. Newcastle have scored in every game they have played.

Coventry’s first win came last time out, 1-0 at Nottingham Forest, with Jay Dasilva scoring from a ball played forward by the goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. Before it they had lost all four matches without scoring. They have still not scored at home.

Coventry: one goal, three points

Coventry lost 3-0 at Arsenal, lost 1-0 at home to Hull City, lost 1-0 at Manchester City, lost 5-0 at home to Brighton and won 1-0 at Forest. One scored, ten conceded, three points. Their two home matches have produced six goals against and none for.

The Forest result was built on defending: twenty-four shots against, three on target, one goal the other way. It is a template, but it is a template that works best away from home, where the opponent is obliged to attack. At home Coventry will have to do more with the ball.

Newcastle: goals at both ends

Newcastle drew 2-2 with Liverpool, won 2-0 at Tottenham, drew 2-2 with Bournemouth, lost 4-1 at Leeds United and beat Hull City 2-1. Nine scored, nine conceded, eight points, and they have scored in every one of their matches.

Away from home they have a clean win at Tottenham and a heavy defeat at Leeds, three scored and four conceded. Against Hull they scored twice inside seven minutes, missed a penalty and were outshot for the rest of the match. They can start fast; they have not yet shown they can close a match comfortably.

• Coventry City: 3 points from their first five, 1 scored, 10 conceded
• Coventry at home: lost 2, 0 scored, 6 conceded
• Newcastle United: 8 points from their first five, 9 scored, 9 conceded
• Newcastle have scored in all five of their league matches
• Kick-off: Monday 12 October, 20:00 BST, Coventry Building Society Arena

Last time out

Coventry won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on 19 September. Jay Dasilva scored on fifty-five minutes, finishing left-footed after a ball from the goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. Forest had twenty-four shots and 62.6% of the ball; Coventry had ten shots and kept their first clean sheet of the season.

Newcastle beat Hull City 2-1 at St James’ Park the same afternoon. Joe Willock and Lewis Hall scored inside seven minutes, Yoane Wissa had a penalty saved and Mohamed-Ali Cho replied for Hull. Newcastle were outshot twenty-one to twelve after taking the lead.

Where the table stands

After five matches Coventry are eighteenth on three points, level with Bournemouth, and Newcastle ninth on eight. Coventry’s goal difference of minus nine is the worst in the division, three worse than Tottenham’s.

A Coventry win would lift them out of the bottom three for the first time. A Newcastle win would take them to eleven points and a third win in six.

What decides it

Coventry’s defence was good enough at Forest and their attack has still produced one goal in five matches. Newcastle’s attack has produced a goal every week. Unless Coventry find a way to score at home for the first time, the most they can reasonably hope for is a repeat of what they managed at the City Ground.

For Newcastle, Monday night is a chance to go into the second block of the season in the top half with three wins from six. For Coventry, a first home goal would be progress; a first home point would be more.

Newcastle’s matches have been lively in both directions: they have scored in all five and kept one clean sheet. Coventry’s have been one-way traffic in four of five, with the Forest result the exception. The most plausible Coventry path to a result is the one they took at the City Ground, soaking up pressure and taking one chance. At home, with the ball more often, that path gets harder.

The Monday slot also means Coventry will know exactly what everyone around them did on Saturday and Sunday. By kick-off they will know whether a win takes them out of the bottom three or merely closes the gap.

Simulate it before it happens

Coventry have scored once all season and Newcastle score every week. On the Premier League simulator you can play Monday’s match now and take the table forward from it.

• Play the remaining 33 rounds from the real table and the real fixture list
• Run this fixture through the AI match simulator, in tactical view or in the physics arena
• Open the line-up builder for both clubs before you kick off a simulation
• Turn an arena simulation into a vertical video ready to share

"Coventry have not scored a goal at home. Their only goal of the season won them their only match."