Coventry City travel to face Everton on Friday night looking to build on a recent upturn in Premier League form. Frank Lampard's side have collected nine points from their last five league games, a run that includes a 3-1 win over Sunderland last week.

That result lifted the Sky Blues to 16th place in the table with nine points from nine matches, having recorded three wins and six defeats so far. Their next challenge is a trip to Goodison Park to face an Everton side sitting seventh. David Moyes will take charge of his 592nd game as Everton manager, equalling a club record. The team's recent form shows two wins and two defeats from their last four games, a sequence of results that includes the 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday 31 October, a 0-1 loss to Fulham on Saturday 24 October, a 1-3 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday 19 October, and a 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday 12 October.

Key Player Contributions

Ethan Pinnock's leadership has been vital during this period. The defender wore the captain's armband last week and has delivered consistent performances. "He has a nice demeanour on and off the pitch," Lampard said of Pinnock's influence.

Coventry's attack has also found its rhythm, with the 3-1 victory over Sunderland featuring goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Taiwo Awoniyi and Jack Rudoni. Sakamoto opened the scoring in the 17th minute, Awoniyi added a second in the 37th, and Rudoni sealed the points in the 52nd minute from a Victor Torp assist. That followed a 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle earlier in October, though form has been mixed with defeats to Fulham and Tottenham in their last four outings. Overall this season, Coventry have scored nine goals but conceded sixteen, leaving them with a goal difference of minus seven.

Everton's Challenges

Everton have their own concerns ahead of the fixture. Defender Jarrad Branthwaite is being nursed after going off with cramp in Monday's win over Newcastle. "We will see. We need to wait and see how things go," Moyes said when asked about the player's availability. Jack Grealish will not be available for the match, though the club intends to work with him again soon.

Lampard, who managed Everton between January 2022 and January 2023, gave nothing away regarding the fitness of his own players Bobby Thomas and Frank Onyeka. The manager is currently without several players, with A. Amenda, H. Wright, J. Eccles, B. Thomas, and L. Woolfenden all sidelined.

With the January transfer window approaching, Moyes added there are currently no plans for activity. Coventry will hope their current squad can continue their improved performances, which have yielded two wins from their last four games. The fixture at Goodison Park kicks off at 20:00 GMT on Friday, 6 November. A victory could help close the considerable 15-point gap to league leaders Arsenal.

The original report is at bbc.co.uk