Sunderland vs Coventry prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-22 15:00.
It’s the dawn of another new era for Sunderland, who appointed Michael Beale as their new head coach this week. The ex-Rangers man becomes the Black Cats’ third permanent boss in the space of just 22 months and says that the “opportunity is a fantastic one, but there is lots of work to be done.” He inherits a team firmly in the race for the play-offs, but with an indifferent record across their last five games (W2, D1, L2), there’s still room for improvement.
Beale will certainly want to get off to a winning start, but just one of Sunderland’s last four managers have done so, that one being his predecessor Tony Mowbray. To emulate Mowbray, Beale will have to get the better of Coventry, a side the Black Cats have failed to beat in their last seven league H2Hs (D4, L3).
The Sky Blues make the trip north in fine form having lost just one of their last seven (W3, D3), coming from behind to earn a point at Leeds last time out with a performance described as “unbelievable” by boss Mark Robins. They still remain six points behind Sunderland, but picking up a point at Elland Road was a rare bit of success on the road for Coventry, who have won just nine of a possible 33 points away from home to date this season (W2, D3, L6).
Concerningly, only four clubs in the division have earned less, and two of those are in the bottom three! But four of those points have come from their last three road trips and they are unbeaten across their last three visits to the Stadium of Light (W1, D2), all of which were overseen by Robins, giving the travelling fans hope of ending the first half of the season on a high.
Players to watch: Sunderland’s Jack Clarke is the joint-third top scorer in the Championship with ten, and netted in this fixture last season. Five of Matt Godden’s seven goals for Coventry this season in all competitions have come away from home, with four of those in the first half.
Hot stat: Having won back-to-back home league games, Sunderland could now win three in a row within the top-two tiers of English football for the first time since February 2012.