Coventry v Middlesbrough: Sky Blues to win a shoot-out at 13/5 | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Coventry command respect at the CBS Arena

Football betting tips from the Championship as Mark O'Haire provides a preview of the best odds and prices as Coventry host Middlesbrough on Saturday.

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Coventry v MiddlesbroughSaturday May 3, 12:30

Lampard positive despite Coventry loss

Coventry chief Frank Lampard praised his side's spirit after a dramatic stoppage-time defeat in a fiery game against lowly Luton, which saw both sides finish with 10 men. The Sky Blues' late loss means only a win in front of an expected sell-out crowd on Saturday will confirm a play-off place, with a draw potentially allowing Millwall or Blackburn to capitalise.

Lampard said, "We gave absolutely everything. We dug in with 10 men for a long, long time. The effort they put in against a team that goes direct and cross it a lot - when you're a man down - it's a long afternoon and the lads' spirit was brilliant. But you can't legislate for a late mistake that leads to their goal so there's still work to do ahead of the weekend."

Lampard's options are limited coming into the CBS Arena contest with a difficult decision to be made on two of his regular first choice back four with centre-half Bobby Thomas and right-back Milan van Ewijk hoped to be available after sitting out recently. Jake Bidwell will come in for the suspended Jay Dasilva, whilst influential winger Ephron Mason-Clark is out.

Carrick still habours Middlesbrough hope

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick said his side have to go into their game with Coventry on Saturday with "belief and hope", after dropping points in a frustrating goalless draw with Norwich. Boro dropped to ninth, two points outside of the top-six and must win at the CBS Arena to stand any chance any chance of featuring in the end-of-season play-offs.

Carrick said, "We needed to the win the game and we just didn't have that moment that we needed to find. We just weren't able to do that. There was a couple of moments when we had few opportunities, but it just didn't drop for us. We're bitterly disappointed but we've got to go there believing that we can get what we want from the day never mind the game."

Middlesbrough are hoping to have Rav van den Berg and Neto Borges available again with the latter not fit enough to feature from the bench against Norwich and the former absent from the squad altogether. Boro are also waiting to see if Riley McGree will be fit enough to return but Ben Doak, Sol Brynn, Alex Bangura, Luke Ayling and Seny Dieng are all out.

Sky Blues strong at the CBS Arena

Coventry have enjoyed recent meetings with Middlesbrough. The Sky Blues ran out impressive 3-0 winners at The Riverside in the reverse encounter with Boro to make it four straight victories over the Teessiders, as well as a solitary loss in eight head-to-head meetings (W5-D2-L1). City are also W5-D2-L1 in their last eight home dates with Boro.

Coventry 2.20 enjoyed a remarkable winning run during January and March (W9-D0-L1) yet the Sky Blues' form has dipped in the following eight weeks with City returning W3-D1-L5 in their past nine Championship contests. However, the hosts have remained rock-solid at the CBS Arena, posting W13-D3-L4 here when excluding the runaway top-two.

Middlesbrough 3.50 have also struggled to sustain an eye-catching late winter run of form with the Teessiders managing just W1-D1-L3 in their last five league fixtures. Michael Carrick's men have fallen below expectations on their travels too, registering only two away league victories since December (W2-D3-L8), returning W2-D1-L8 at top-13 teams.

Goals forecast for final day shoot-out

A final day shootout could be in the offing on Saturday as Coventry look to secure their spot in the Championship's play-off places, whilst Middlesbrough aim to pull off the unthinkable and squeeze into the top-six at the Sky Blues' expense. Considering the circumstances, a goal-heavy game holds plenty of appeal and Over 2.5 Goals is understandably short.

Over 2.5 Goals has landed in eight of Coventry's last 13, as well as 68% of their overall CBS Arena outings. Only nine of Boro's previous 17 have followed suit, though 55% of the visitors' away days have produced 3+ strikes with the Teessiders getting on the scoresheet in all bar five of those 22 road trips - Middlesbrough should fancy a repeat here too...

Coventry have silenced only three of their previous 13 opponents and with the match undoubtedly set to open up as the regular season comes to a climax, there should be plenty of opportunities for both sides. With that in-mind, I'm happy to back Coventry to win and Both Teams To Score at 13/5. The hosts' home record should prove pivotal here.

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Back Coventry to win and Both Teams To Score @ 13/5