Mark Robins’ past comments on Sunderland can give Coventry City and Frank Lampard winning formula

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Sunderland have a tricky tie against Coventry City this weekend, and if Frank Lampard has been paying attention to his predecessor, he will know exactly how to defeat the Black Cats.

After successive wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff, Sunderland were on a bit of a roll heading into the midweek game against Preston North End.

Naturally, then, Regis Le Bris’ side produced a poor showing and let themselves down. Indeed, they were fortunate to come away from the game with a point after a late Romaine Mundle goal sealed a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Le Bris got his tactics wrong in that game, and he will need to fix that immediately if he wants to get the better of an in-form Coventry City side this weekend.

• READ MORE: The Sunderland hero who wanted Frank Lampard’s England spot as Black Cats gear up for Coventry City

Mark Robins and Stoke City beat Sunderland this year, Coventry can follow that blueprint

Lampard took the Coventry job under unusual circumstances back in November, succeeding Mark Robins in the role.

Robins moved on to Stoke City, and shortly after, was responsible for masterminding Sunderland’s exit from the FA Cup in the third round with a 2-1 win for the Potters.

Speaking after that game (via the Sunderland Echo), Robins outlined how his Stoke team got the better of a young Sunderland squad.

He said: “The lads deserve credit for sticking at it and the two goals came from our good press. It was two young teams with people making mistakes when they didn’t need to.

“There wasn’t many chances… It was tough watching at times but it’s a start for us. If you can’t play brilliantly then stick at it, which we did.”

Sunderland’s defence have been looking more and more vulnerable lately, with Anthony Patterson making mistakes, and Dennis Cirkin a shadow of his early-season self.

Suffice to say, if Coventry pile the pressure on in the final third and press high against the Black Cats on Saturday, chances will come their way.

This will be a clash between two of the better teams in the league, but at the CBS Arena, Coventry will be buoyed by the home crowd and will want to make it as uncomfortable as possible for Sunderland right from the off.

If Lampard has taken note of anything Robins has done, he will surely glean an important lesson from his predecessor ahead of the upcoming game and instruct his Sky Blues players to press with intensity at the weekend.

• READ MORE: Regis Le Bris hints at frustrating Preston North End tactics vs Sunderland, he was happy to find a ‘solution’

Sunderland haven’t beaten Coventry City since 2007

Meanwhile, Regis Le Bris has a massive task on his hands, with a winless streak stretching all the way back to 2007 to overcome against Coventry.

Granted, the two teams have spent a fair amount of time in separate divisions over those last 18 years, with just ten games taking place in that time.

But, with three draws and two defeats in the last five Championship meetings, Sunderland go into this game very much on the back foot already.

In fact, over the course of history, Coventry have the upper hand in this fixture with 17 wins to Sunderland’s 12. But, the most likely result based on past meetings is a draw, with 18 deadlocks between the two teams since 1930.

A draw wouldn’t be a bad result for Sunderland this weekend, all things considered. It would keep the likes of Coventry at arm’s length in the play-off spots, at least, but anything less than a win could see the Mackems finally lose pace with the top three once and for all.

Sunderland’s automatic promotion hopes are slim as it is, but defeat against Coventry would all-but kill the dream there and then.