Hull vs Coventry Prediction: Home form could cost Tigers

We’ve got some Championship action coming our way on Monday night and it's a big one as relegation-threatened Hull City host play-off hopefuls Coventry City at the MKM Stadium (20:00, Sky Sports Football).

After Saturday’s results, Coventry have the chance to go five points clear of the chasing pack while Hull are down in 20th, just two points above the drop. Below you can find my Hull vs Coventry predictions for Monday night. 

Football Odds

Team News

Hull lost 1-0 at Watford in midweek so Ruben Selles may want to shake things up to get his team out of danger. Joe Gelhardt and Joao Pedro were both ineffective in the final third and taken off after the hour-mark, so Kyle Joseph and Abu Kamara will hope for starts. Meanwhile, Kasey Palmer has started just one match since December 14 but could come into the XI against his former club, having played 20 minutes off the bench.

The back four looks reasonably settled with Lewie Coyle at right-back, Alfie Jones and Charlie Hughes at centre-back and Sean McLoughlin at left-back. 21-year-old Hughes looks to have a big future ahead of him, while John Egan could provide more experience at the back. Matt Crooks and Gustavo Puerta were both ill in midweek but should return here to refresh the midfield area of the pitch. 

Coventry manager Frank Lampard could be missing from the dugout after he was sent off against Burnley and subsequently charged by the FA. He has until Monday to respond to the charges but the liklihood is that Joe Edwards will step up to the plate at Hull. 

On the pitch, Oliver Dovin remains the key absentee for the Sky Blues as he has done his ACL and is out for the rest of the campaign. Brad Collins recovered from his mistake against the Clarets to keep Portsmouth out on Wednesday night, so he will keep his place in goal. In that 1-0 win, midfielder Victor Torp had to come off with a painful-looking ankle issue, so he is likely to miss this away trip. 

That means captain Ben Sheaf could replace him, and play alongside Matt Grimes and Jack Rudoni. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron-Mason Clark have been underwhelming lately, but are likely to flank central striker Haji Wright - although Jamie Paterson’s late winner for his boyhood club has given Lampard food for thought. Ellis Simms and Norman Bassette look likely to have to settle for roles as impact substitutes once more. 

Hull vs Coventry Odds

Hull are priced as the marginal favourites here at 8/5, giving them an implied win probability of 39%. That may come as a surprise given their poor home record, so Coventry could offer good value at 9/5. If you fancy a draw, that is up at 9/4 while over 2.5 goals is priced up at 1/1 having come in during 56% of Coventry’s fixtures. 

BTTS by the same measure is 8/11, while Wright is the favourite to score first at 11/2. 

Coventry to win to nil @ 18/5

Coventry were poor at home to Portsmouth on Wednesday night, but that last-gasp winner will have given them huge confidence heading into the final five games. Lampard has been able to harness this feel-good factor so far during his tenure and I think they can go to Hull and win. 

The Tigers have the worst home record in the division having amassed just four wins out of 20 in front of their own fans, at a rate of 0.98 points per game. They’ve only scored two goals in their last four outings and although I think Selles has improved them, I don’t trust them to be able to compete with the top-six challengers. If the days of the week matter to you, Hull have lost 11 of their past 16 league games played on a Monday (W3 D2). I will back the Sky Blues to win to nil here, at what looks to be a massive price. 

Haji Wright to score anytime @ 15/8 

Wright was one of several underperformers in midweek, but he remains the most dangerous Coventry player in front of goal. He has now scored 11 goals in 22 matches for the Sky Blues, and four in his last four games. If Coventry are going to reach the play-offs, and perhaps even the Premier League, he is going to have to play a massive part. 

At 0.66, the American boasts the best goals-per-90 ratio in the entire division, and when he is at his best, he is very difficult to stop. I think he will enjoy this away fixture, which is so crucial to both teams. Let’s back Wright to step up in front of the cameras. 

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