After suffering back-to-back defeats, playoff-chasing Coventry City will try to return to winning ways when they play host to Portsmouth in Wednesday’s Championship contest.
The Sky Blues are sitting in seventh position with six matches left to play, while the relegation-threatened visitors are in 17th place in the Championship table.
Match preview
Coventry’s playoff bid has lost considerable momentum in recent weeks, with their last four matches producing one win and three defeats.
After falling to a 2-0 away defeat against Derby County, the Sky Blues returned to winning ways with a commanding 3-0 victory over Sunderland at the CBS Arena.
However, they have failed to build upon that positive result, having gone on to lose 3-1 away to promotion-chasing Sheffield United, before losing to another top-two hopeful in Saturday’s home meeting with Burnley.
Haji Wright netted a fifth-minute opener against the Clarets, only for Jaidon Anthony to score a brace to condemn Frank Lampard‘s side to their first home defeat since February 5, causing Coventry to drop out of the playoffs and down to seventh spot in the standings, leaving them one point adrift of Bristol City and Middlesbrough with six games left to play.
The Sky Blues can still take confidence from the fact they have won four of their previous five home games, although they may be concerned that they have failed to win any of their last eight league matches that have been played on a Wednesday (D3, L5).
Coventry have recorded a 1-0 victory in their most recent home game against Portsmouth in February 2020, although that represents their only win in the last seven head-to-head league meetings.
Portsmouth moved 10 points clear of the drop zone after they claimed a notable 1-0 win over promotion hopefuls Leeds on March 9, but they have seen their gap reduced to four points following three defeats in four games.
Pompey lost 2-1 in back-to-back games against Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End, before they boosted their survival hopes with a narrow 1-0 home win against Blackburn Rovers.
However, Pompey were unable to take anything from Saturday’s away meeting with Millwall despite Andre Dozzell scoring an 80th-minute equaliser to cancel out Mihailo Ivanovic‘s opener.
Ivanovic went on to score his second goal of the game in the 87th minute to condemn John Mousinho‘s side to a 2-1 defeat, representing their 10th loss in the last 11 Championship away matches (W1).
In fact, the South Coast side have the joint second-worst defensive record in the division, having taken just 10 points from their 20 Championship road trips and conceded a league high of 45 away goals.
Not only are Pompey searching for their third away league win of the season, but they are also looking to complete just their second league double over Coventry after cruising to a 4-1 win in December’s home game, where Callum Lang netted all four goals.
Team News
Coventry recently confirmed goalkeeper Oliver Dovin sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, meaning backup shot-stopper Bradley Collins will start a second straight game.
The hosts are also expected to be without Josh Eccles and Brandon Thomas-Asante, while Norman Bassette is a doubt after being absent from Saturday’s squad.
Midfielder Victor Torp could come back into the side after dropping down to the bench for the narrow defeat to Burnley.
As for the visitors, they remain without Ibane Bowat, Hayden Matthews, Conor Shaughnessy, Jacob Farrell, Paddy Lane and Lang.
Defender Rob Atkinson is closing in on a return to action, but he is likely to be ready Saturday’s home clash with Derby rather than Wednesday’s away trip.
Zak Swanson remains a doubt after he missed the defeat to Millwall, although Pompey should welcome back Mark O’Mahony from a small back issue.
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Collins; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Grimes, Torp; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Schmid; Williams, Poole, Ogilvie, Bramall; Potts, Dozzell; Ritchie, Aouchiche, Murphy; Bishop
We say: Coventry City 2-1 Portsmouth
Coventry may have lost at the CBS Arena at the weekend, but they have won four of their last five home matches, and we think they make full use of home advantage to edge out a Portsmouth side that have lost 10 of their previous 11 away league games.
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