Coventry City vs Birmingham City
England Championship, KO: 20:00 Dec 8, 2023, Coventry Building Society Arena
Coventry City host Birmingham City in a Friday night Championship fixture with both teams looking to spark some momentum. Coventry have shown some quality in recent weeks and should have the edge over Birmingham, who are still looking out of sorts at the moment.
Coventry City are coming off a 2-1 defeat to high-flying Ipswich Town in their previous Championship fixture. They fell two goals down before the break and had to wait until injury time to pull one back through a Brandon Williams own-goal.
That was the first defeat in three matches for Coventry City, who had been slowly building some momentum in recent weeks. Mark Robbins’ men kept clean sheets in all three fixtures, picking up two wins in that run.
Coventry City have also done some good work at home, suffering just one defeat in their last nine Championship matches in front of their fans. They have also kept clean sheets in the last two matches in that run, picking up a 1-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle in their most recent home fixture.
Birmingham City are still trying to find some traction under manager Wayne Rooney, who has picked up just one win in eight matches since controversially taking over the helm in October. They have been on a steady decline down the table and are now just one point above Coventry City.
Rooney was booed by the home fans as Birmingham City played out a 0-0 draw with Rotherham United last time in the Championship. They saw plenty of possession but struggled to find their cutting edge in attack.
One of the symptoms of Birmingham City’s struggles this season is a poor record on their travels. They have lost their last seven Championship away matches and were beaten 4-2 by Blackburn Rovers in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Coventry City have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 7/10 by Coral. An unlikely win for Birmingham City is valued at 4/1 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by bet365.
Head to head
Birmingham City have a 15-14 advantage with 13 draws from 42 previous matches against Coventry City. However, the Sky Blues have won two of the last three fixtures and picked up a 2-0 victory in the most recent meeting at the Coventry Building Society Arena back in April.
Players to watch
Coventry City’s campaign has been driven by the dual attacking threat of Matthew Godden and Haji Wright, who have six and five Championship goals respectively. Godden is priced at 13/8 by Paddy Power to find the net on Friday while bet365 is also offering 13/8 on Wright in the same market.
While the attacking players have caught the eye, the backline has also stood firm for Coventry City, earning shutouts in three of their last four matches. Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching are usually the central defensive partnership and can lead the hosts to another clean sheet at 7/5 woth Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Coventry City have won to nil in two of their last three matches and could be set for a similar outcome at 19/10 by Coral. Given the quality in their attack, a -1 handicap could also be considered at 15/8 with bet365.
With Coventry City expected to be dominant on Friday, they could be backed to score in both halves at 13/8 with bet365.
This England Championship match between Coventry City and Birmingham City will be played on Dec 8, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Coventry City vs Birmingham City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
