Bristol City vs Coventry predictions: Manning's men look good on the corner count
- Coventry won 1-0 at Bristol City in the Carabao Cup this month
- Bristol City are unbeaten in six home league games
- Recommended bet: Over 6.5 Bristol City corners
Bristol City and Coventry turned on the style in their last games to collect their first Championship wins of the 2024-25 season.
Liam Manning's Robins were 3-2 down at home to Millwall but hit back to win a thriller 4-3.
Coventry, meanwhile, were tested to the limit by newly promoted Oxford before snatching a late winner in a 3-2 success.
Team news
City boss Manning, for so long a 3-4-3 man, is now playing 4-2-3-1, partly because right wing-back Ross McCrorie is injured.
His one big decision on Saturday is whether to bring super sub Scott Twine back into the starting XI at No.10, which would mean moving Max Bird, who has been excellent. Bird could drop deeper, possibly at the expense of Joe Williams.
Up front it is either Sinclair Armstrong or Fally Mayulu, both having found the net in the 4-3 win over Millwall.
Key midfielder Ben Sheaf, the control at the heart of Mark Robins' two-man engine room, seems to still be sidelined by an ankle injury.
The Sky Blues chief will stick with the 4-2-3-1 set-up, although he could bring in ex-Bristol City man Jay Dasilva for his defensive work.
The stats
Bristol City have taken 16 points out of a possible 18 from their last six home matches.
Coventry have failed to score in any of their last three away league games, though did win 1-0 at Ashton Gate in the Carabao Cup earlier this month.
Bristol City are unbeaten in their last four Championship showdowns with Saturday's opponents, with three of those games ending in draws.
Prediction
Robins has admitted concerns over some of his side's defensive work, and if Oxford can cause them untold headaches then so too can Bristol City.
It looks like a tight game to call – Bristol City are 7/5, Coventry 8/5 – and since three of their last four league meetings ended in draws, it may well turn out close.
However, what it should not be is dull because both sides are forward-thinking.
Bristol come into this match on the back of a thrilling 4-3 win over Millwall, while Coventry were twice pegged back by plucky Oxford before prevailing 3-2.
Robins has got a new-look defence at the CBS Arena and it may well take time to gel, especially minus the protection of the excellent Sheaf.
That means there should be several chances created and plenty of home corners won.
So far, Bristol City have chalked up eight corners against Hull, nine against Coventry in the league and another five against Millwall. Coventry have conceded 18 in their two away games.
We suggested betting over 6.5 Bristol City corners the last time Coventry visited and it paid off, so why change the approach?
Win up to £1MILLION with LiveScore 6!
Win up to £1Million with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!
