Newcastle United’s next opponents Coventry City have won fewer tackles than any other Premier League side during the opening weeks of the season.
BBC Sport’s Tom McCoy, writing in a report carried by Yahoo Sports, puts Coventry’s total at 26, compared with a league average of 45.
Frank Lampard’s side have averaged 39% possession and sit second bottom for both total distance covered and distance sprinted.
Those figures provide an early picture of the promoted club’s adjustment before Newcastle visit Coventry on Monday 12 October.
However, their final match before the international break offers a warning against assuming those difficulties will continue.
Coventry’s Forest win gives Newcastle a different test
The BBC analysis records that Coventry outran and outsprinted Nottingham Forest in their victory before the break.
Their opening schedule also included Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton, providing important context for the early numbers.
Our view is that Newcastle should look to move Coventry’s defensive shape through quick combinations and changes of direction, rather than treating a low tackles-won total as proof that individual duels will be easy.
That statistic cannot establish how well a team protects space, forces opponents backwards or prevents passing opportunities.
Newcastle have their own standards to meet. In his September programme notes, Dan Burn acknowledged that the team had failed to match Leeds physically during their defeat at Elland Road.
For Matthias Jaissle, the task is to make Newcastle’s possession productive while remaining ready for the improved intensity Coventry showed against Forest.
