Sunderland visit Coventry in the Sky Bet Championship Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Fresh off 21/20 and 7/4 winners last weekend, Michael Beardmore has two best bets.
Football betting tips: Championship
1pt Draw at 12/5 (Spread Ex, BoyleSports)
1pt Viktor Gyokeres first Coventry goalscorer at 10/3 (Sky Bet)
Heading into the weekend, just seven points separate fourth place from 11th in a wide-open race for the Sky Bet Championship play-off spots.
Two of the sides caught up in that crowd of contenders are Coventry City and Sunderland – and they meet in a lunchtime Saturday kick-off that hands each the chance to steal a slight march on their rivals playing later that day.
Sunderland, in eighth, are four points and three places better off than their hosts but Coventry have a game in hand – make no mistake, these sides are as evenly matched as their positions suggest.
The form guide is pretty inseperable too - Mark Robins' Coventry claiming 10 points from the last 18 available, while Tony Mowbray's Sunderland have collected 11.
Kick-off time: 12:30 GMT, Saturday
TV channel: Sky Sports Football
Coventry 5/4 | Draw 9/4 | Sunderland 9/4
It’s incredibly difficult to shake the feeling this game will end all square, especially given Coventry are the atypical razor’s edge walkers – 24 of their 32 matches this season have either finished level or been decided by one goal either way.
Sunderland are not averse to a sharing of the spoils either – their tally of 10 drawn games this season is surpassed by only four Championship sides – so the DRAW at 12/5 has to be our first tip.
From a goalscoring standpoint, it’s impossible to ignore the standout name from both squads – Coventry’s 14-goal top scorer Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swede is enjoying a sensational season, indeed he has netted 40% of the Sky Blues’ goals, an incredibly high ratio.
In addition, his xG tally of 14.62 is more than Coventry’s next four highest scorers combined – when the Sky Blues create chances, they tend to fall to Gyokeres more often than not.
He’s a 2/1 shot to score anytime which, to be honest, isn’t a bad price given his record this season but considering he dominates City’s scoring opportunities, I prefer the longer-odds 10/3 on GYOKERES TO BE FIRST COVENTRY SCORER.
Gyokeres has attempted 15 shots in his past four games, scoring twice, and he’s put a seven-game drought behind him in the process. He’s a streaky striker, having hit seven in his previous seven, and is clearly in the mood again.
In City’s 32 league games this season, he’s struck the first goal nine times, implying odds of around 5/2 so the 10/3 has to be considered value.
Coventry v Sunderland best bets and score prediction
- Draw at 12/5 (Spread Ex, BoyleSports)
- Viktor Gyokeres first Coventry goalscorer at 10/3 (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: Coventry 1-1 Sunderland (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct 1600 GMT (23/02/23)
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