Coventry City vs Derby County Prediction: Haji to make it four in four

Coventry City might just be back. I am biased as I am writing this from a sky blue perspective, but after a season of struggle the grey clouds have lifted over the past couple of weeks. A comeback win over Luton Town was followed by a wonderful 3-0 win away at 10-man Middlesbrough, and it feels like Mark Robins has once again found his groove. 

The popular manager always seems to take a while to get going, but the winter months are where Coventry seem to thrive. They will be trying to make it three wins in a row as they host a stubborn Derby County team (19:45, Sky Sports+) who have punched above their weight so far this season. Below you can find my Coventry City vs Derby County prediction featuring team news and betting tips. 

Team News

Coventry suffered a late blow on Saturday morning as Ellis Simms woke up with a foot issue and felt he couldn’t play against Boro. Brandon Thomas-Asante started in his place but if the former Everton man is fit he will likely join Haji Wright up front.

Coventry’s lopsided 3-4-1-2 formation now sees Jack Rudoni operate in a nominal left wing-back role, with Luis Bink the left-sided centre-back entrusted to cover behind him. Milan van Ewijk has licence to power forward on the other flank, while Oliver Dovin kept his first clean sheet of the season behind a back three of Bobby Thomas, Joel Latibeaudiere and Binks last time out. 

Josh Eccles has been superb this season and will continue in midfield alongside captain Ben Sheaf, while the only other decision Robins has to make is choosing between Victor Torp and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto in the number 10 role. On the injury front, Jake Bidwell, Ben Wilson and Jamie Allen all remain sidelined for this one. 

For Derby, Paul Warne will likely go with his tried and trusted front three which is made up of Kayden Jackson, Jerry Yates and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. Yates has only managed one goal this season but brings energy to the front line, and has seemingly got his manager’s trust to lead the line. 

On the injury front, attacker Tawanda Chiwera is out of action until December, David Ozoh is sidelined until November and Ryan Nyambe has missed the last three games with a knee issue. 

Coventry City vs Derby County Odds

Coventry are priced at 4/5 to win this game, giving them an implied win probability of 55%. Derby can be backed at 7/2, a draw is 11/4 and over 2.5 goals is available at 4/5. BTTS is 8/11, while Haji Wright and Ellis Simms are the favourites to open the scoring at 11/2.

Coventry to win and BTTS @ 5/2

I’m happy to back the home side to win this game based on what we have seen from them in the last two games. The switch in formation seems to have worked a treat and the lack of confidence that was clearly hampering the squad has now disappeared. Over the past 135 minutes of football, the Sky Blues have scored six goals without reply and they finally look like they are able to climb the table. 

Now, they did play against 10-men for 70 minutes against Boro after Hayden Hackney’s early red card, but they were still the better team when it was 11 v 11. I think they will be able to get the better of Derby, but I’m still not completely convinced by the defence, so will add BTTS to boost our odds. Derby have scored in their last five outings and I think they will do so again at the CBS Arena. 

Haji Wright to score anytime @ 6/4

Coventry’s record signing looks to be performing at his best once again, having now scored three goals in his last three games. He has stepped up to the plate in recent matches and looks comfortable in this front two, having done his best work in a sky blue shirt from the left-hand side to date. 

Whoever his partner is on Wednesday night, Wright will once again look to produce the goods. His work inside the box is improving, and he scored a great tap-in at the back post at the Riverside to put the game beyond doubt. His pace and power is likely to cause Derby all sorts of problems, and I still believe he offers good value to find the net, given only Borja Sainz and Josh Maja have outscored his total of six goals in the Championship this term. 

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