Rugby ready for derby day battle with old rivals Coventry Sphinx

Matches between the near-neighbours have been notoriously fractious of late, with Sphinx holding the recent advantage of two wins and a draw from the last three fixtures.

In each of these, Rugby finished with 10 men with Liam Francis sent-off for two yellow cards last time round in the 1-1 draw at Sphinx Drive in February, and Loyiso Recci and keeper Nathan Liburd-Hines receiving straight reds in the two outings before that.

Liburd-Hines’ dismissal was later overturned on appeal, but Coventry have left Butlin Road victorious twice on the bounce.

And Town boss Carl Adams will be hoping for a three-point haul after a disappointing calendar month ended last Saturday with a 2-0 defeat at mid-table Sporting Khalsa.

Strikes from Andre Landell and James McGrady gave the hosts a half-time lead, and Valley were unable to get back into things to complete a six-game winless September.

Despite the postponement of Tuesday evening’s game to Anstey due to a waterlogged pitch, a busy October still awaits Adams’ men, with the visit of Sphinx followed by a trip to Wellingborough next Tuesday and further fixtures against Coleshill, Hinckley, Rushden and Worcester scheduled before the month is out.

The Town boss reflected on the Khalsa defeat: “I accept we weren’t really on it in the first half, but it was disappointing to concede a second just before the break as it appeared that we’d started to get back into the game.

“We were a little bit better in the second half, but we didn’t threaten them enough.”

Rugby were missing Chris Clements (back) and Madundo Semahimbo (knee) at the Aspray Avenue, with Ryan Sahota and Edwin Ahenkorah named on the bench despite carrying hamstring injuries.

Adams continued: “It’s frustrating that we’ve got a number of players struggling with injuries and/or lack of pitch time.

"We really need to get everyone back available and fully match fit again, and then hopefully we will be a much stronger proposition.

“We’ve got a busy few weeks coming up and we’re up against a number of teams that are in and around us.”