Oxford vs Coventry Prediction: Magic Frank’s Sky Blues to keep on rolling

Coventry City are flying right now under Frank Lampard. Seven wins out of eight in the Championship has taken them to the brink of the top six, with just one point now separating the Sky Blues from those play-off spots. Their next challenge comes as they visit Oxford United (12:30, Sky Sports+), who are surely now only around three wins away from securing their Championship status at the first time of asking. 

Below you can find my Oxford vs Coventry predictions, with both teams in need of the points at opposite ends of the table. 

Team News

Oxford boss Gary Rowett bemoaned his sides’ lack of target man with Tom Bradshaw out injured and so we can expect Mark Harris to come in to lead the line here. Bradshaw remains out with a knee injury, while Greg Leigh, Ben Nelson and Elliott Moore are also sidelined. Joe Bennett picked up a muscle issue against West Brom and is a doubt, while Ruben Rodrigues and Siriki Dembele are looking to force their way back into the XI.  

For the visitors, captain Ben Sheaf could be in contention to make his first start in nine matches as he got a couple off minutes off the bench against Preston. He would likely join Jack Rudoni and Matty Grimes in midfield, as Lampard continues with his preferred 4-3-3 system. Victor Torp has missed the last two games with a calf issue and will have to settle for a spot on the bench if he is fit, while there is positive news in the form of Haji Wright. 

Coventry’s record-signing has been out since November 14, when he damaged his ankle against Sunderland. However, he has been training with the team and is likely to take his spot on the bench, which will be an extremely welcome sight for those Coventry fans. Ephron Mason-Clark, Ellis Simms and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto are likely to make up the front three, with Wright in need of some minutes before he gets back into the starting XI. 

Oxford vs Coventry Odds

Oxford are priced at 5/2 to win this one having won eight of their 17 fixtures at the Kassam Stadium this term. Coventry are the favourites at 23/20, which gives them an implied win probability of 46% to win their fourth consecutive away game. A draw can be backed at 23/10, while a 1-1 can be backed at 17/2.

Over 2.5 goals is 1/1 having come in during 18 of Coventry’s 34 games so far, while BTTS is 4/5. Simms is the favourite to open the scoring at 11/2 having done well in recent weeks. 

Coventry to win @ 23/20

I believe this is the value pick of the weekend. Now I’m a bias Coventry fan, but I’m as pessimistic as they come, so when I’m backing us to win, things must be good. Coventry have won seven of their last eight games under Lampard and during that time, only Leeds have amassed more points than them in the league. Lampard has switched to a back three at times to grind results out, and against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and QPR, the Sky Blues have been fortunate to get three points. However, he’s done that because his best players have been out of action. 

Football Odds

The return of Mason-Clark to the side has allowed him to play a 4-3-3, and Coventry put in arguably their best 45 minutes under the new head coach when they beat Preston last time out. Now with Sheaf back fit and Wright also returning, I’m expecting Coventry’s ceiling to get even higher. Grimes has revolutionised the midfield and they can now control games and put their opponents under real pressure. 

Sakamoto also looked back to his best against PNE, and the bar to stay in this team is now extremely high. Oxford shouldn’t pose too much of the threat having failed to score in their last four fixtures. Rowett has touched upon their lack of cutting edge recently, and I think the Sky Blues should take full advantage.

Mason-Clark to score first and Coventry to win 3-0 @ 100/1

Mason-Clark clearly loves playing under Lampard and he made his first start in over a month against PNE. He got an important assist for Jack Rudoni, but I think he will fancy himself to get back amongst the goals at Oxford having scored four goals in six games when Lampard first arrived in December. 

He should find that form again, especially given that Wright is now back to put pressure on his position. Mark Robins couldn’t quite work out how to get the best out of Mason-Clark and Wright in the same team, so that will be the next challenge for Lampard to overcome. 

I’ll back him to get the first goal in a big away win for the Sky Blues, as I believe their attacking ability will be too much for Oxford. We’ve already mentioned Oxford’s goalscoring woes, so let’s back Cov to keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win, at a massive price. 

Offers

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