Middlesbrough vs Coventry prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-05-07 14:00.
Most Championship sides can be described as having little left to play for but Middlesbrough’s season remains far from over after securing their top-six berth with three games to go. A play-off semi-final now beckons, but with Boro losing twice since securing their play-off place, boss Michael Carrick has called for calm amongst fans stating there’s no need to panic as they’ve “played really well” in both defeats.
The interesting quirk in this fixture is that should Middlesbrough lose to Coventry, they’ll face them again both home and away in the play-off semi-finals! One would expect Boro not to want such an outcome as it could give the Sky Blues a psychological advantage in the games to come, although a return of at least three goals in six of Boro’s last eight home games (W6, D1, L1) suggests they may be happy about a Riverside return for this final match of the regular campaign.
Whilst a Coventry victory will mean this fixture will be one of the play-off semi-finals, a draw would leave Coventry open to being leapfrogged by Millwall which would see them face Luton, but a defeat could see them drop out of the play-off places altogether. So long as Mark Robins’ Coventry do qualify, they’ll actually become just the third side since 1968/69 to fail to win each of their first seven games yet still secure a top-six position!
A six-game unbeaten run has bookended that incredible revival of fortunes (W3, D3), but taking the final step to secure a play-off berth is by no means guaranteed as Coventry have never won at the Riverside Stadium (D3, L9). The Sky Blues are also winless in all of the away league games they’ve played against top-half opposition this season, yet a 50% draw rate in those fixtures may inspire hope of snatching the precious point they require (D5, L5).
Players to watch: Two of the three Championship Player of the Year nominees will battle it out here as Boro’s Chuba Akpom (G28, A2) scooped the prestigious award ahead of Coventry’s Viktor Gyökeres (G21, A10). The latter scored the only goal in the reverse H2H, yet Akpom may bite back with five of his last six goals coming at home.
Hot stat: Middlesbrough are one of just five Championship sides who haven’t lost when scoring first at home (W11, D2).