We look ahead to the first leg of this Championship play-off semi-final at the Coventry Building Society Arena with our Coventry City vs Sunderland prediction and preview.
Sunderland will be hoping to overcome a dreadful run of form to secure a positive first-leg result in their Championship play-off semi-final against Coventry City.
Régis Le Bris’ side enter the play-offs on a five-game losing streak in which they’ve scored just one goal. That losing run is the longest by any team coming into an English Football League play-off semi-final tie in history (across tiers 2-4).
Sunderland started the season in exceptional form, winning nine of their first 12 league games under Le Bris and topping the Championship table heading into November with a four-point-lead over second place. That form fell off, however, with the Black Cats winning just 12 of their remaining 34 matches and taking fewer points than six other sides in the Championship from 1 November onwards.
Over each of the last three seasons, Coventry have enjoyed a much stronger second half to the campaign than they have in the first. That made the decision to sack long-term manager Mark Robins on 7 November a surprise one, even though his side sat in 17th place and 15 points off then-leaders Sunderland.
Frank Lampard arrived and has enjoyed a strong first campaign as Sky Blues’ manager. Since his first match in charge on 30 November, Coventry have won 52 points from 29 games – only promoted pair Burnley (67) and Leeds (65) won more.
Their place in the play-offs was confirmed on the final day with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, with both goals coming via midfielder Jack Rudoni. The 23-year-old provided nine goals and 12 assists in the Championship regular season, with his 21 goal involvements more than any other teammate, as was his tally of 78 chances created.
The presence of Matt Grimes in midfield has helped Coventry seal a play-off place. Since joining from Swansea City on 31 January, he’s completed more passes than any other player at the club in the Championship (940), while only Milan van Ewijk (26) has created more chances than he has (22).
Grimes will likely come up against Sunderland’s central midfield trio of Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil and teenage sensation Chris Rigg. Sunderland captain Neil was their leading player for both interceptions (46) and possession regains (252) in the Championship this season.
Sunderland’s main goal threat across the campaign has been forward Wilson Isidor, who scored 12 goals across 43 matches. The 24-year-old struggled with his form in the latter stage of the regular season though, failing to score in each of his last 13 league games (776 minutes on the pitch) despite attempting 23 shots.
More Championship Reading:
ChampionshipWho Will Win the Championship Play-Offs in 2024-25?
11 hours ago Matt Furniss, David Segar EFLAre League Position or Momentum Linked to EFL Play-Offs Success?
11 hours ago Ryan Benson ChampionshipChampionship Team of the Season: Opta Analyst’s 2024-25 XI
1 day ago Matt FurnissCoventry City vs Sunderland Head-to-Head
Coventry come into this match unbeaten across their last 10 league games against Sunderland (W5 D5). They last lost against the Black Cats in the league back in February 2007 (2-0).
Their home form against Sunderland is even stronger, as they have gone 13 games without a loss to them on home soil (W8 D5) in all competitions. Their last home defeat against Sunderland came back in April 1985 in a Division One match at their old stadium, Highfield Road (1-0).
These two clubs met at the Coventry Building Society Arena just two months ago, on 15 March. Coventry cruised to a 3-0 home win thanks to a sensational hat-trick from forward Haji Wright. Sunderland could only manage one shot on target and six shots in total across this defeat.
Wright also scored for Coventry in the 2-2 draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in November. His goal began a comeback, after Isidor and Dennis Cirkin put Sunderland 2-0 up inside 35 minutes. Rudoni’s equaliser gave Coventry a point in the 84th minute.
Coventry City vs Sunderland Prediction
Despite finishing seven points below them in the Championship table, Coventry City are favourites to win this match and take an advantage into next week’s second leg in Sunderland.
The Sky Blues won 47.9% of the 10,000 pre-game simulations by the Opta supercomputer, while Sunderland prevailed in 26.1% – a very slightly higher projection than a draw (26.0%).
Going into the play-off semis, Sheffield United are projected to win promotion back to the Premier League most often across the current 10,000 supercomputer simulations (36.0%), with Coventry having the second highest probability at 25.1%. Sunderland were deemed the least likely side to win the Championship play-offs this season (19.3%).
The winning team will face the victor of the other semi-final tie between Bristol City and Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 24 May.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Coventry City vs Sunderland Prediction Opta Analyst.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Coventry City vs Sunderland Prediction )
Also on site :
- Country Star Spills What It Was Really Like Performing With Taylor Swift
- Lizzo Shares Bold Statement About Running Into Nicki Minaj at the Met Gala
- Judge seeks more information from Trump administration about prison deal with El Salvador