Portsmouth vs Coventry City Prediction: Mason-Clark the man for a goal

Having picked up eight points in four matches, Portsmouth’s revival came to a crushing end on Friday night as Derby County hammered them 4-0 at Pride Park, in front of the Sky cameras. It was a poor showing from John Mousinho’s men, who had looked like a far more competitive outfit in recent weeks. 

They will return to Fratton Park on Saturday, where they have won their last two games, and they welcome Coventry City to the South Coast (12:30, Sky Sports Main Event). The Sky Blues have picked up two wins from four under Frank Lampard, and below you can find my Portsmouth vs Coventry City predictions. 

Team News

After a pick-up in form with a fairly settled XI, it will be interesting to see how many changes Mousinho decides to make after a woeful underperformance at Pride Park. Colby Bishop should continue to lead the line, with Josh Murphy a real bright spark on the left-wing in recent weeks. Matt Ritchie had locked down the right-wing spot but Christian Saydee could replace him after coming off the bench at half-time on Friday night. 

Pompey still have a whole host of injuries to deal with, including Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell, Jordan Williams, Conor Shaughnessy, Kusini Yengi and Mark O'Mahony, with the latter returning to parent club Brighton & Hove Albion for treatment.

Regan Poole was forced off at half-time against Norwich City and was left on the bench against Derby, but I’d expect him to come back into the heart of the defence in place of Tom McIntyre or Marlon Pack. 

For the Sky Blues, Lampard remains without star forward Haji Wright, who has not yet rejoined training after picking up an ankle injury against Sunderland. It has given an opportunity to Ephron Mason-Clark, who has starred on the left wing in the new 4-3-3 system. He will start, with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto on the right, but the number nine spot is still up for grabs. 

Ellis Simms and Norman Bassette look set to battle it out, with Bassette winning a penalty against Hull City, and Simms hitting the post after coming off the bench late on. Jack Rudoni, Victor Torp and Ben Sheaf should continue in midfield, leaving Josh Eccles on the bench, while the other question mark comes at left-back, where Jay Dasilva and Jake Bidwell are battling it out for the starting spot. 

Ben Wilson is the only other player on the treatment table as he edges closer to a return. Brad Collins should keep his place in goal ahead of summer signing Oliver Dovin, in the Englishman’s absence. 

Portsmouth vs Coventry City Odds

Portsmouth are priced at 13/5 to win this game, which could prove to be good value given they have scored three times in each of their last two outings at Fratton Park. Coventry are available at 9/10 to win this one, but they’ve only won two games on the road all season. A draw can be backed at 12/5. 

Over 2.5 goals has come in during 12 of Portsmouth’s 19 league games so far, giving them the highest success rate in the league at 63%. That can be backed at 5/6 while BTTS is 8/11. Simms and Bassette are both priced at 6/1 to open the scoring. 

Over 2.5 goals @ 5/6

These two teams both rank in the top three for over 2.5 goals in the Championship this season, so this is my obvious first selection, but I think it still offers great value. As I’ve mentioned earlier in this piece, 12 of Portsmouth’s 19 league games so far have ended with over 2.5 goals, giving them the highest success rate in the league.

Coventry aren’t far behind them however, in third place with an over 2.5 goals success rate of 57 per cent, having seen this come in during 12 of their 21 games so far. Both of these teams saw over 2.5 goals in their last game, with Coventry securing a 2-1 win over Hull as well as missing a penalty, while Pompey lost 4-0 at Derby. Portsmouth have also seen over 2.5 goals in each of their last three matches at home. 

With both teams struggling to keep clean sheets, but boasting potent attacking players, we should get an open encounter on Saturday lunchtime. 

Ephron Mason-Clark to score anytime @ 13/5 

One of Coventry’s attacking stars is former Peterborough man Mason-Clark. When Mark Robins was in charge, he hadn’t been given a run of games on the left due to the form of Wright, a man who has proven himself in big moments time and time again. Instead, he was given a couple of chances on the right, when things didn’t look natural for him. 

Under Lampard, Wright’s injury has given EMC the opportunity he has been waiting for in his natural position, and with the American set to be out for another few weeks at least, his run of games is set to continue. He has now scored three goals in four games, and he produced one of the assists of the season against the Tigers. Forget Cov's strikers, Mason-Clark is the biggest goal threat right now, and we are getting great value on him to find the net at anytime. 

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