Sunderland will host Coventry on Tuesday evening in the second leg of their semi-final tie in the ongoing Championship playoffs.
The hosts enter this game with a one-goal advantage after beating Coventry 2-1 in the first leg, so they are huge favourites to reach the final of the playoffs and one game away from promotion.
Sunderland have been the better team this season, finishing six points ahead of Coventry, but they were also on a five-game winning streak before their first meeting in the playoffs.
With that in mind, Coventry were favoured to win the first leg, but a late goal by Eliezer Mayenda ensured that the Black Cats went into the second leg with an advantage.
How the bookies view it: Sunderland more likely to emerge victorious
After winning the first leg in Coventry, the Black Cats are favoured by the bookies to win the second leg as well.
The odds of 11/10 on Boylesports indicate that the hosts are the more likely winners, but the guests aren't completely written off either, with the odds of 21/10 on a Coventry win.
A draw in this game is priced at 23/10 on Boylesports.
Head to head: Coventry to find self-assurance in recent meetings
Before Sunderland's 2-1 win last week, the Black Cats were winless in their last 10 duels with Coventry, half of which have ended in draws.
This fact won't help the Sky Blues overcome the deficit in Sunderland, but it can certainly give them some much-needed confidence after the first leg.
Players to watch: Sunderland's forwards to shine again?
Sunderland's top scorers from the regular season, Wilson Isidor (12 goals) and Eliezer Mayenda (8 goals), secured Sunderland the advantage in the first leg, so don't be surprised to see at least one of these names on the scoresheet in the second leg too. Isidor to score at 15/8 odds on Boylesports is particularly tempting.
Meanwhile, Coventry's Jack Rudoni, who had nine goals in the regular season, managed to find the net in the first leg, but their top scorer Haji Wright didn't. Still, he's the main candidate to score in this game for the guests with 5/2 odds.
Predicted line-ups
The hosts will be without injured Ian Poveda, Ajibola Alese, Ahmed Abdullahi, Romaine Mundle, and Jayden Duns. Isidor is also dealing with a minor injury, but he will almost certainly be in the starting lineup for such an important game.
Norman Bassette, Victor Torp, and Oliver Dovin are on Coventry's injury list heading into this match.
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, O'Nien, Cirkin, Roberts, Neil, Bellingham, Le Fee, Mayenda, Isidor
Coventry: Wilson, Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva, Grimes, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Wright, Thomas-Asante
Anything else catch the eye?
With six of the last 10 meetings between Sunderland and Coventry ending with goals on both sides, both teams to score at 3/4 odds on Boylesports sounds like a solid bet. Furthermore, the guests will have to attack early if they want to overcome the deficit from the first leg and we certainly expect Sunderland to score after scoring twice last week in Coventry.
This England Championship match between Sunderland and Coventry will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sunderland vs Coventry prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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