Coventry vs Portsmouth Prediction: Can the Sky Blues bounce back?

Coventry’s play-off hunt has taken a few dents in recent weeks, as first Sheffield United, and then Burnley, handed them a painful defeat. The loss at home to Burnley at the weekend was frustrating for everyone of a sky blue persuasion as Brad Collins and Liam Kitching combined to make an error that handed the Clarets all three points. 

By the time they kick-off on Wednesday (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event), all of their other play-off rivals will have already played. So this is a big one. Below you can find my Coventry vs Portsmouth predictions featuring betting tips and team news. 

Football Odds

Team News

The Sky Blues are still counting the heavy cost of losing goalkeeper Oliver Dovin to an ACL injury at Bramall Lane. Collins deputised in the last match and has played before this term under Lampard, but was dropped after making several mistakes at Portsmouth in the 4-1 defeat at Fratton Park at Christmas time. 

Up against that same team, it will be interesting to see if the former Chelsea manager sticks with Collins in goal after his mistake, or if he gives Ben Wilson a chance. Wilson won the Golden Glove in 2022/23 but has been left out of the team ever since, however he did sign a new contract with the Sky Blues last month so will be hoping for more game time moving forward. 

The gaffer won’t be on the touchline on Wednesday night having received a red card after the match for berating referee James Bell for what was a below-par performance. Elsewhere, Lampard could make a change in midfield with both Victor Torp and Ben Sheaf hoping to get back into the team and Jamie Allen struggling to make an impact against Burnley. Jay Dasilva should keep his place at left-back after a solid performance, while Josh Eccles remains out with a calf issue. 

Portsmouth lost at Millwall last time out and John Mousinho will want to avoid another away defeat. Marlon Pack could return to the back four while Alexander Milosevic could also be in line for a debut for Portsmouth at the heart of the defence. 

However, Mousinho is unlikely to make a raft of changes - it’s not been in his nature this season as he has a lot of trust in the XIs that he picks - so there may not be too many changes from Saturday. None of the injured players are expected back, while despite Harvey Blair’s impressive cameo from the bench, he is unlikely to break into the XI. 

Colby Bishop will start up top again, but Pompey are without Callum Lang, the man who put Coventry to the sword with a four-goal haul back in December. 

Coventry vs Portsmouth Odds 

Coventry are priced at 4/6 to win this game, giving them an implied win percentage of 60% heading into this home clash. Meanwhile Portsmouth are priced up 4/1 having won just two away games all season, and a draw can be backed at 3/1. 

The Sky Blues have the dangerous Wright up front and he is the favourite to score first against Pompey at 4/1, having scored first against Burnley last time out. Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 4/5, as can BTTS with these two leading the way in the division for games with three goals or more. 

Haji Wright, Ephron Mason-Clark and Colby Bishop all 1+ shot on target @ 7/2

I like this price boost on offer from Betfred. We are picking out the three most dangerous men on the pitch all to have a shot on target at a decent price - and in truth I think they can all find the net in what should be an open encounter. Coventry will come out with a point to prove after back-to-back defeats, and having faced the top two in the last two fixtures, will be glad to come up against a weaker opponent. 

That means they should be more front-footed than they have been, with Wright the main goal-threat, and Mason-Clark set to start on the left. Wright’s numbers speak for themselves, he has now scored 11 goals in 21 appearances and has the best goals-per-90 ratio in the league at 0.70. In terms of shots, he is averaging 2.37 per 90 and 1.37 on target per 90, making him a fairly safe pick. 

EMC is averaging 1.79 shots per 90 and 0.99 shots on target per 90 this season but should have a lot of joy down the left against Portsmouth on Wednesday - given their struggles on the road. However, Bishop is their biggest threat and given Cov’s uncertainty in goal, he will be told to fire shots off at will. He’s averaged 0.71 shots on target per 90 this term,  but I’m happy to back him to test Collins or Wilson in the Coventry goal. 

Coventry to win and BTTS @ 23/10

I just can’t see the Sky Blues keeping a clean sheet with the current goalkeeper situation that Lampard is having to deal with. Collins looks shot to pieces but is likely to play again, with another error possibly spelling the end of his Coventry career. 

But the main reason I’m backing BTTS is that the stats support it. Both Coventry and Portsmouth sit at a success rate of 55% this season for BTTS, plus they both lost 2-1 last time out. It has come in during four of the last six Cov games, while it’s also come in during three of the last four Pompey fixtures. 

Both teams should be able to find the net, but I am going to side with the Sky Blues to get the job done on home soil. Portsmouth have the second-worst away record in the league having picked up just 10 points from 20 away games, while Coventry should be able to bounce back after a tricky run. 

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