Frank Lampard hints at Coventry City changes for Aston Villa clash

Coventry boss Frank Lampard hinted he could make changes for their Carabao Cup third-round clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday.

The Sky Blues have lost all four of their top-flight matches this term and will be hoping a win in the cup at home in a west Midlands derby can kick-start their season.

Coventry’s only win of the season was against League One side Plymouth in this competition in August and Lampard may look to give other players a chance in order to get the team up and running this season.

Lampard told a pre-match press conference: “It’s a game we certainly want to win.

“I have heard lots of reaction over the years about, ‘why did the manager do this with cup games?’ but when you work day to day with players and they are training at a good level and want to get in the team – then sometimes you have to give them the opportunities and they hopefully show you stuff that bodes well going forward.

“We will certainly try and strike the balance between being competitive as we want to be and potential to see some players and show what they can do.”

This clash will be a first meeting between the sides since May 2001 when Villa won 3-2 at Villa Park and relegated Coventry from the top flight.

Lampard added: “I’m very excited for the occasion. I know this is not a Premier League fixture, we got to the Premier League for these kinds of fixtures and is a game the Coventry fans hold dear, not having too many of these over the years so it’s not short on me.”