Frank Lampard believes Coventry City are in a good place ahead of their Premier League clash with Hull City, having had the chance to see more of his squad in the EFL Cup.
Coventry played their first top-flight match in 25 years last Friday but were soundly beaten 3-0 by Arsenal to start the season.
Lampard's side responded well to that loss by booking their place in the EFL Cup third round on Tuesday with a 4-2 win over Plymouth Argyle, though they had to overcome a slight scare.
Coventry took a two-goal lead only to be pegged back early in the second half, but they got over the line in the end, with Taiwo Awoniyi also getting his first goal for the club.
The Sky Blues were the only promoted side not to win their opener, but Lampard is taking a lot of confidence from their midweek performance.
"You have always got to enjoy a win, but at this point it is also looking at performance and individual and collective performances," he said.
"We made a lot of changes, and so, for me, it's good to have a look at players that we didn't start at the weekend [Friday] and are pushing for places.
"I expected it to be difficult; it's not an easy place to come. It was a great start to the game, two really good goals, high-quality goals.
"Big mistakes for the goals; we must be honest about that, and then a good reaction to win the game pretty well, but of course a win is a big deal."
Hull, meanwhile, began their season with a shock 2-0 win over Manchester United, scoring twice in the first half to beat the Red Devils for the first time in the top-flight.
They followed that up with a win in the EFL Cup, beating Stoke City 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
And head coach Sergej Jakirovic, like Lampard, was pleased to give minutes to other members of their squad as they build on a strong start to the campaign.
"It was an opportunity for other players to play, and after Manchester United there was a lot of excitement, a lot of stress, a few problems with some players," he said.
"I will use this competition [the EFL Cup] to give other players a chance because you never know when we will need them."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Coventry City – Carl Rushworth
Carl Rushworth made more line-breaking passes than any other goalkeeper on MD1 (20), while completing more long passes than any other goalkeeper on the opening weekend (18/34).
He conceded three goals after facing 20 shots against Arsenal, with six of those attempts on target, and Rushworth will be hoping for a more positive outing on Saturday.
Hull City – Matt Crooks
Two of the top five players for distance covered on MD1 of this season's Premier League were for Hull, with Matt Crooks first (12.7km) and Regan Slater fifth (12.3km).
The Tigers led all sides for high-intensity pressures applied (422), while Crooks also won three of his four tackles and won more duels (8/13) than anyone else in the team.
MATCH PREDICTION: COVENTRY CITY WIN
This will be the first-ever top-flight meeting between Coventry and Hull, the 1,454th different fixture to be played in England's top division, and 942nd in the Premier League.
Coventry have won just one of their last nine league games against Hull (D5 L3), with both meetings between the sides in the Championship last season ending 0-0.
But Hull have lost just one of their last eight away league games against Coventry (W4 D3), going down 2-1 in December 2024.
In Premier League fixtures exclusively between newly promoted sides, the home team has won six of the last eight meetings (D1 L1), having won only five of the prior 26 encounters (D6 L15).
And Coventry had the best home record in the Championship last season, collecting 55 points from their 23 games (W17 D4 L2), which is form they will be keen to replicate in their bid to stay in the top-flight.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Coventry City – 50.9%
Draw – 24.3%
Hull City – 24.8%