Sunderland vs Coventry predictions: Black Cats to pounce on managerless City
- Sunderland are top of the Championship after 14 games
- Coventry sacked Mark Robins as manager on Thursday
- Recommended bet: Sunderland to win
Sunderland’s strong start to the season has shown little signs of slowing down and Regis Le Bris’ men will be hoping to make home advantage count against a Coventry side who shockingly parted with long-serving manager Mark Robins in midweek.
The Black Cats possess the joint best home record in the division heading into the weekend, with five wins and a draw from their opening six games at the Stadium of Light.
The Sky Blues meanwhile, despite lying in 17th, are level on points with Plymouth – who occupy the final spot in the relegation zone – and have won just one of their last six matches on the road.
Team news
Sunderland will be without midfielder Jobe Bellingham for this contest after the 19-year-old was shown a straight red card in the goalless draw at QPR last weekend.
He joins the likes of the injured Anthony Patterson in watching Saturday’s encounter from the sidelines, while Daniel Ballard, Ian Poveda and Ajibola Alese are also not expected to feature.
City’s interim manager Rhys Carr will be without influential striker Ellis Simms through injury, while Jake Bidwell and Jamie Allen are also expected to play no part as they recover from respective knee and leg issues.
Victor Torp and Jay Dasilva both came off the bench in their 2-1 defeat to Derby in midweek and the two will be vying for starting spots in this contest.
The stats
Sunderland have avoided defeat in each of their last seven matches, while only West Brom have conceded fewer goals at home than Sunderland (2).
The Black Cats have scored exactly twice in each of their last three home matches, but Coventry have not lost any of their last four trips to the Stadium of Light.
The Sky Blues have lost one of their last four league matches.
Only Haji Wright (6) and Ellis Simms (2) have scored more than once for the Sky Blues in the Championship this season.
Prediction
Coventry’s form heading into this contest could have been a lot worse, with seven points from their last four matches, but the shock sacking of Robins could backfire on the Sky Blues in this contest.
The Wearsiders have lost just three of their 15 matches in all competitions and have kept clean sheets in each of their last three league games, with the Black Cats boasting the fourth best defensive record in the division.
Many of Coventry’s squad will be reeling from Thursday’s news and they may not have enough time to adapt to the managerial change, although Carr is unlikely to alter things too drastically from his predecessor.
With the Sky Blues in turmoil, all signs point towards Sunderland capitalising and maintaining their promotion push at the summit of the Championship.
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