Coventry City host West Bromwich Albion in a massive Good Friday showdown in the race for the 2024-25 Championship Play-Offs.
Victory will see Coventry climb to fifth if Bristol City fail to win elsewhere, whilst West Brom can go sixth and above their hosts with a win.
Team News
Bobby Thomas and Ephron Mason-Clark are doubts for Coventry after the pair missed the Sky Blues’ 1-1 draw at Hull due to respective calf and foot injuries.
Josh Eccles (calf) and Brandon Thomas-Asante (pelvis) face late fitness checks, but Oliver Dovin (ACL) and Victor Torp (ankle) are still sidelined.
West Brom could welcome Jed Wallace back into contention after two months out with a calf injury.
Ousmane Diakite (ankle), Semi Ajayi and Tammer Bany (both hamstring) are doubts but Torbjorn Heggem (ankle) and Josh Maja (leg) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Coventry host West Brom at CBS Arena on Good Friday 18 April at 3pm BST, live on Sky Sports+ in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Coventry have won one of their last nine league meetings against West Brom (W1, D2, L6).
- West Brom have lost just one of their last six league visits to Coventry (W4, D1, L1).
- Defeat would see Coventry suffer five consecutive league losses against West Brom for the second time in their history, having first done so between October 1978 – October 1980 as part of a 15-match winless run against the Baggies.
- No Coventry player has been involved in more league goals this season than Jack Rudoni, who has netted six goals and contributed 11 assists in 38 appearances.
- West Brom are winless in their last 14 league games away from home (D4, L6).
Prediction
Currently with one win in four matches and having let a narrow lead slip at Hull, Coventry really need to just reset because if they don’t win here, they face two difficult trips to relegation-battling Plymouth and Luton before a potentially crucial final-day play-off qualification against Middlesbrough if not careful.
West Brom meanwhile ended their five-match winless run with a clinical home win over Watford but they’re lucky to still be in the play-off race given their run of no wins in 13 away games since November, so breaking that rut here is imperative because their final three games are against relegation-battling clubs which isn’t easy.
Simply put it this way, neither team can afford to lose this game if want to reach the play-offs but Coventry have a strong home record under Frank Lampard, so I do expect them to score but West Brom really should have enough quality to snatch something here.
Prediction: Coventry 1-1 WBA
