Coventry v Sunderland: Prediction, tips and bet builder ahead of Championship play-off semi-final

Coventry bagged a fifth-placed finish thanks to a 2-0 win over fellow play-off chasers Middlesbrough on the final day of the regular season. Their prize is a semi-final clash against a Sunderland side that has seen their results fall off a cliff.

The Black Cats were assured a play-off spot for some time, but that’s certainly no excuse for going on a five-match losing run.

Thanks to their disastrous run-in, Regis Le Bris and his men head to Coventry with little to no momentum and a host of injuries to overcome. 

Sunderland have been out of the top-flight for the last eight seasons, but their hopes of a return have definitely taken a hit following recent results.

As well as a six-match winless run, the Black Cats have only scored one goal during that time. That’s one goal in over 540 minutes of Championship football.

The real question is whether Coventry can capitalise on Sunderland’s recent woes. Frank Lampard has certainly injected fresh life into the club – something exemplified by their run to the play-offs.

Since their run of five straight league wins before Easter, the Sky Blues have failed to find much consistency, following up every win with either a draw or back-to-back defeats.

Nevertheless, Lampard’s men signed off on the regular season with an impressive victory over Middlesbrough and they are sure to take plenty of momentum into Friday’s encounter.

Lampard is no strange to play-off drama having taken Derby County to the final during his early managerial days. If he can navigate his way past Sunderland, the former England international will get another shot at Wembley glory.

Here we pick out some of our best tips for this juicy Championship meeting, and if you put it into a Betway bet builder you’ll get odds of around 10/1.

Coventry v Sunderland bet builder

Coventry to win – 6/5

Under 2.5 goals – 1/2

Haji Wright to score anytime – 9/5

5+ match shots on target – 1/7

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

Considering Sunderland’s form fails to exude any sort of confidence, we’re putting our chips on a Coventry City win in this opening leg.

Lampard’s men will be feeling strong after securing their spot in the top six and will be further encouraged by their impressive head-to-head record against the Black Cats.

Coventry are unbeaten in 10 matches against Sunderland, last tasting defeat against the North East side back in 2007.

In their last meeting, the Sky Blues played their rivals off the park and picked up a 3-0 win, courtesy of Haji Wright’s hat-trick.

Last year’s Championship play-off semi-finals failed to produce any goals in the first leg. With that in mind, we’re backing Coventry to win a low-scoring affair. We’re also adding Wright to our acca, backing the forward to get on the scoresheet.

With a nervy encounter on the cards, we’re ending our bet builder by adding 5+ match shots on target.

Coventry v Sunderland: How to watch and listen

Coventry v Sunderland will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, NOW TV, SKY GO Extra and Sky GO. Live radio coverage will be available on talkSPORT.

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How do we create our tips?

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