Man City v Coventry: Key stats and talking points

Life back in the Premier League after 25 years away does not get any easier for Coventry City. They visit Manchester City on Saturday (15:00 BST) in their third game of the new season. Manchester City flexed their muscles last time out with a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace . After only just edging past Bournemouth in their first game, new head coach Enzo Maresca has enjoyed an encouraging start in the unenviable position of replacing Pep Guardiola. For Coventry head coach Frank Lampard, things have been a lot less straightforward. They have lost both of their first two games and are yet to score a goal. Man City new boys may have to wait The sense of a new era at Manchester City has been prevalent all summer and was rammed home even further on the final day of the transfer window. Enzo Fernandez arrived in a joint-British transfer record £125m deal from Chelsea , as did Iliman Ndiaye in an initial £60m switch from Everton . Given the way Saturday's hosts played last time out, both players may need to wait for their chance to start. Against Palace, it was Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki who did the damage, with two goals apiece. Haaland has scored 19 goals in 20 Premier League appearances against newly promoted teams, which could be ominous for Coventry. As for Cherki, after his two assists against Bournemouth on the opening weekend, he scored the first double of his league career in the win at Palace. Only Bruno Fernandes, with three goals and one assist, can match the Frenchman's four goal contributions from the opening two games. Only Morgan Rogers, with nine, has created more chances than Cherki in the Premier League so far this season too, albeit the Chelsea man has been on the pitch for 63 more minutes. The arrival of Ndiaye means that, along with Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo, Maresca has four of the best dribblers in the division to call on. [BBC] Early struggles for Sky Blues Although an opener at Arsenal was always going to be tough for Coventry, Lampard as disappointed by what he witnessed in the 1-0 defeat by Hull City on home soil last weekend. Given how free-scoring his team were in the second tier last season – 97 goals in 46 games – there would have been more hope of the side operating with a bit more attacking verve back in the top flight. But so far, only Aston Villa have struggled to make more of an impact in the final third than the Sky Blues in terms of xG, shots on target and touches in the opposition box. [BBC] This fixture will not define Coventry's season, but Lampard will be looking for an improved performance from his team. The former Chelsea and Everton boss could also do with a boost given his own struggles at this level. Lampard has won just four of his past 32 Premier League matches (D8 L20), including just one of his past 19 in the competition (D4 L14), at Bournemouth in 2023 when he was in interim charge of Chelsea.