Coventry 0 Sunderland 0: Highlights as Cats claim hard-fought point at the CBS Arena

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Sunderland’s Championship fixture at Coventry.

The Black Cats will be looking to build on last weekend’s 2-1 win over Rotherham, yet it won’t be easy against a side who reached the play-off final last season.

We’ll have all the build-up ahead of the match, as well as in-game analysis and post-match reaction.

Stick around and refresh the page for live updates throughout the day.

We’ll start with the Sunderland team news - and another injury blow.

Patrick Roberts has been ruled out of the side’s next two matches against Coventry and Southampton with a minor hamstring strain, which forced him off in the closing stages of last weekend’s win over Rotherham.

It’s hoped the winger will be able to return after September’s international break.

Ross Stewart, Corry Evans, Aji Alese and Jay Matete all remain sidelined, while new signing Eliezer Mayenda has a hamstring injury.

Elliot Embleton and Jenson Seelt have returned to training and could return to the squad today, although head coach Tony Mowbray has said it’s unlikely they’ll feature.

Chris Rigg is available again after suffering a concussion playing for the under-21s side last week but Mowbray doesn’t expect the teenager to play a big part against Coventry.

Here’s what the Sunderland boss had to say about today’s opponents in his pre-match press conference.

“We have been watching all their games and you can see their strengths from the way they emphatically beat Middlesbrough.

“They have a good squad of players who are very organised. They are defensively well structured and then have that threat up the top end of the field.

“When we went there last year, I thought we were unlucky not to come away with anything, but Viktor Gyokeres had a great game that day.

“We know we will go there with a great backing, and it is all about the players hearing the noise, winning tackles, putting in the extra yards and being an attacking threat, so they get that reaction from the travelling fans.

“We will do everything to go there and win.”

Coventry have taken four points from their first three league games this season and drew 1-1 at Swansea last weekend.

The Sky Blues have made 10 new signings this summer, including a permanent transfer for ex-Sunderland striker Ellis Simms.

To find out more we caught up with Myles Cadden from Sky Blue Fans TV on the latest episode of The Roar Podcast.

You can listen to the full podcast here

Here’s what he said when asked about Coventry’s start to the season.

“We’ve had a lot of change and have brought in 10 or 11 players now this summer, virtually a whole new squad has arrived at the CBS.

“We’ve not fared too badly and I thought we were quite unlucky not to get a point at Leicester. Then again, if you don’t take your chances you don’t get anything out of the game.

“Against Middlesbrough (a 3-0 win) we took our chances on the day and looked quite comfortable in that game.

“Against Swansea I thought both teams played really well in the first half. It was disappointing that we conceded within two minutes of scoring but 1-1 was probably a fair result.”

Coventry playmaker Kasey Palmer missed last weekend’s match at Swansea due to a family reason, while right wing-back Milan van Ewijk was forced off with a toe injury in the second half.

Both have trained this week, though, and are expected to feature against Sunderland.

When asked about the Black Cats and head coach Tony Mowbray, Coventry boss Mark Robins said:

“We’re playing against a really good technical Sunderland team and it will be a different challenge again, but it’s one we’re all looking forward to.

“The game will be a good game I think and like I said before that they are a really technical team.

“Tony’s teams are always like that, and the Coventry public know him really well and he does things in a certain way and demands things done a certain way and his teams generally play really exciting football or really technical football.

“They’ve got a young side or young squad and they’ve added to that again and that’s the way Sunderland have operated and chosen to operate, and I think that that’s something that Tony enjoys.

“I think it gives him that energy. He loves working with young players and trying to improve them, like us and I’m looking forward to the game. I think they’re always good encounters.

“They’re always tough games against Sunderland, everybody knows that. They’re always well supported and there’s always a good atmosphere in the stadium.”

Here are our predicted line-ups for today’s match:

Predicted Coventry XI: Wilson, Thomas, McFadzean, Latibeaudiere, Van Ewijk, Eccles, Sheaf, Dasilva, Palmer Wright, Godden

Predicted Sunderland XI: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin, Neil, Ekwah, Gooch, Bellingham, Clarke, Dack

With less than a week of the transfer window remaining, Sunderland are still looking to make multiple signings before next Friday’s deadline.

The priority is to bolster the squad’s striker options, while the Black Cats are also looking to add cover in central midfield and out wide.

Ukrainian striker Nasiriy Rusyn has been a long-term target this summer, with reports in Ukraine claiming Sunderland are close to reaching an agreement with Zorya Lugansk.

The Black Cats were also exploring the Premier League loan market but would prefer to make permanent deals.

Fulham forward Jay Stansfield was a player on the club’s radar, yet the 20-year-old has since signed for Birmingham on loan.

Roberts’ injury has also highlighted Sunderland’s reduced options out wide, following Isaac Lihadji’s move to join Qatar-based side Al-Duhail SC.

A report in France has claimed the Black Cats have seen a bid rejected for Lille winger Alan Virginius, who has four years left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club.

Sunderland could also allow players to leave before the end of the transfer window, with uncertainty over the futures of Danny Batth, Alex Pritchard and Lynden Gooch, who are all into the final year of their contracts.

When asked about the trio on Thursday, Mowbray replied: “I honestly don’t know.

“I speak to those boys every day and they’re all really good lads. They’re different personalities but they’ve all got personalities and as I’ve said before, my thought is always for them and their families. What’s right for them.”