The Sky Blues travel to Bradford tonight looking to be the first team to break through the Bantams’ defensive barrier this season.

Jim Jefferies’ men are unbeaten in their first two games and are yet to concede a goal, but Gordon Strachan believes his side can take all three points as long as they stop Bradford taking control of the game.

The Sky Blues manager identifies former Coventry midfielder Eoin Jess as a possible threat, but is more interested in what his own players can do.

He said:

“I have been to see Bradford play and they used a 4-3-3 formation which suits them.

“We’ve identified what they’re good at and we need to stop that so we can play ourselves.

“Jess is playing well. He scored a good goal with his head and he’s playing a nice position that suits him. He’s a fantastic football player and looks like he has got himself together at Bradford.

“But we want to make sure we are braver on the ball and more positive in our thinking.”

Strachan will hand midfielder Youssef Safri his debut in midfield alongside Lee Carsley, who was today linked with a move to West Ham.

Magnus Hedman continues in goal as Chris Kirkland is still recovering from a knee injury he picked up training with the England under 21s.

Andy Goram has signed for the Sky Blues for a month and will take his place on the bench tonight.

Julian Joachim and Gary Breen are still out injured, so Jay Bothroyd will continue up front alongside £5,000,001 man Lee Hughes and Richard Shaw will partner Paul Williams at the heart of the Sky Blues defence.

And Strachan expects to see his team playing to his forwards’ strengths.

He said:

“I have been saying to the players that we need to take two or three passes through midfield instead of trying to get the ball straight to Jay and Lee.

“We have got to be more positive in our play and try to win the game tonight by what we do and not leave it up to chance.”

Coventry City (probable): Hedman; Nilsson, Shaw, Williams, Hall; Thompson, Safri, Carsley, O’Neill; Bothroyd, Hughes.

Substitutes from: Goram, Edworthy, Chippo, Quinn, Zuniga, Martinez, Gavin Strachan.