Coventry City will host West Bromwich Albion as they look to move away from the relegation zone. Even though West Brom was already in the top six going into the weekend, there are only five points separating these two teams in the standings.
Preview (Coventry City vs West Bromwich Albion)
With only two losses from their first 11 games going into the October international break, Coventry felt like they were starting to turn things around. They have lost back-to-back games to Rotherham United and Bristol City without scoring a goal. Mark Robins’ team is now in 20th place in the standings. Even though they still have a positive goal differential, the Sky Blues have fallen back to earth just five months after losing out on a Premier League spot in a penalty shootout. Still, this is a squad that has only scored twice in their last four games. Both of which came in the 85th minute or later and one of which was an own goal.
In the meantime, West Brom is starting to show that, even with their well-known internal problems. They can compete for a promotion under Carlos Corberan. Without a new owner, there is still a chance of a player fire sale. The Baggies had three wins in their previous five games to move up to sixth place. Two of those victories came at The Hawthorns against Queens Park Rangers and struggling Sheffield Wednesday. For a squad that needs to get as many points as possible in order to be safe heading into the second half of the season, points are what counts. It is noteworthy that they have kept five clean sheets in six league games. Their lone loss in eight meetings occurred in a contentious manner away at Birmingham City.
Team News
Haji Wright is expected to take Matt Godden’s or Ellis Simms’ position in Robins’ starting Coventry XI. After his long-awaited return, Cameron O’Hare won’t be given a start just yet, despite Bobby Thomas and Tashiro Sakamoto’s strong desire to rejoin. Due to injuries, Liam Kelly, Jamie Allen, and Kasey Palmer are still sidelined. Even though Cedric Kipre’s knee injury is much less serious than initially thought, Corberan might exercise caution and rest the center defender for this match.
Darnell Furlong or Pipa could fill in at wing-back in a back three, and Alex Mowatt could take Okay Yokuslu’s spot in center midfield. There is a claim that Coventry has the qualifications to continue their winning ways at home. Nevertheless, West Brom is maturing in this Championship campaign. We believe Corberan’s team will have enough to win this match, aided by a strong first-half performance.
Coventry City 1 – 2 West Bromwich Albion
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