Sunderland vs Coventry City FC Best odds and tips

Sunderland are 2-1 up from the first leg of this Championship playoff semi-final, but Coventry will be confident of turning the tie around at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday. The Sky Blues won 2-0 at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday, just 3 days after they lost 2-1 to Sunderland, so there’s plenty of recent history between these sides to suggest that this will be a close match. Sunderland have finished as the higher ranked side after coming 4th in the 2024-2025 Championship with 76 points from 46 games, 7 more than Coventry who finished 5th. Regis Le Bris has done a good job since taking over as Sunderland boss on the 1st of July 2024, bringing a pragmatism and tactical adaptability to the club that has seen them make the playoffs and keep their fans happy. Coventry City FC, meanwhile, are looking to reach their second playoff final in three seasons, a consistency at the business end of the Championship that is a testament to the work of Frank Lampard, who has been at the helm since 28th November 2024. Lampard’s teams are known for their possession-based, front-foot style, but sometimes lack penetration against the low blocks they face in the Championship, which could be a problem against Le Bris’ disciplined Sunderland side.

Le Bris switched to a compact 4-4-2 system for the first leg of this tie and it worked a treat, shutting Coventry out while still posing a threat on the counter. The Black Cats have averaged 1.39 goals per game at home in the Championship, conceding just 0.78 in return, and their style of play is to sit deep and hit on the break, especially when protecting a lead. Coventry, meanwhile, have averaged 1.04 goals per game away from home in the Championship, conceding 1.48 per game, so they have struggled to find the net on their travels and have been defensively fragile at the back. Jack Rudoni has scored 4 of Coventry’s last 6 goals, making him a threat after a slow start to the season, while Haji Wright leads the line with 12 goals in 27 Championship appearances. Sunderland are winless in their last 2 home games against Coventry City FC, but the Black Cats are the favourites to make it to the playoff final, although it’s a narrow one at 2.44. Coventry are 3.3 to win the match and the draw is 3.6, but Sunderland have been poor at home recently, losing 2-0 to Oxford United and 0-1 to QPR before their 2-1 win at Coventry.

Sunderland have won 12, drawn 7 and lost just 4 of their 23 home Championship fixtures, so they have the better home record. Eliezer Mayenda has scored 2 of Sunderland’s last 3 goals during a crucial run-in and Wilson Isidor remains their chief weapon with 12 goals in 43 Championship appearances this season. Given the stakes of this match, I think Sunderland’s counter-attacking threat could be lethal against a Coventry side who need to chase the game, so I’m going for Sunderland to win and both teams not to score in the same game. There have only been 3 goals in Sunderland’s last 5 games and Coventry need to push forward, so the ‘Both Teams to Score: No’ market could be an interesting alternative to the 1X2 market for this game.