Derby vs Coventry Prediction: Cov to edge low-scoring affair

Derby County welcome Coventry City to Pride Park on Saturday (12:30 BST, Sky Sports+) as the second round of the Championship begins. Former Rams manager Frank Lampard will be hoping to continue his unbeaten run to the season with Coventry, who arrive as favourites after a steady showing against Hull in last weekend’s 0-0 draw.
Derby are looking to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to Stoke in the league, a contest they went 1-0 up in before conceding three times without reply. Below are my Derby vs Coventry predictions, alongside team news and odds.
Derby vs Coventry Betting Tips
Odds correct at the time of publishing
Team News
Derby are without Curtis Nelson, Kane Wilson, Lars-Jorgen Salvesen, Patrick Agyemang and Sondre Langas for the foreseeable future, with Owen Beck also a doubt for this match.
Coventry remain without goalkeeper Oliver Dovin for the long term; however, their only other injury worry is Josh Eccles.
Derby vs Coventry Stats
- Coventry finished fifth in the Championship last season with 69 points
- The Sky Blues drew their opening game of the season 0-0
- Derby finished 19th in the Championship last term with 50 points, avoiding relegation by just one point
- Derby lost their opening game of the new season 3-1
Derby are 2/1, or a 33.3% chance, to win this game on home soil, with Coventry priced at 6/4 for the victory, and the draw available at 21/10.
Under 2.5 goals can be backed at 8/13, while a 1-0 away win is 6/1.
Coventry to win @ 6/4
Coventry opened their league campaign with a goalless draw against Hull City, a result that looks stronger after the Tigers put three past Wrexham in the EFL Cup during the week.
Lampard’s side created the better chances in that opener, registering 18 shots to Hull’s seven and an expected goals tally of 1.43 to 0.43.
A 1-0 win over Luton in midweek EFL Cup action has added to the Sky Blues’ momentum and should give them confidence as they prepare to face Lampard’s former club, Derby.
Derby’s start has been less convincing. They fell 3-1 to Stoke in their opening league fixture and only scraped past West Brom on penalties in the EFL Cup.
The Rams needed an injury-time free-kick to force a shootout, having been second best for long spells in both matches.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Under 2.5 total goals @ 8/13
Despite Derby’s poor start to the season, the Rams limited West Brom to a single goal before grabbing a late equaliser during the EFL Cup clash, and it took Stoke until the 95th minute to edge ahead before adding a third in stoppage time in the opening league match.
In both games, Derby created little in attack but showed some resilience defensively. The same could be said of Coventry, who have opened the season with back-to-back clean sheets but managed just one goal of their own.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Offers
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