Sky pundit concerned at footage he’s seen ahead of Coventry City v Sunderland
Sunderland are preparing to face Coventry City in the Championship playoffs, with plenty of early nerves showing already.
The Black Cats have had a dreadful end to the season, losing to QPR on the final day to make it five consecutive defeats in the second tier.
Now, Regis Le Bris has to turn his side’s fortunes around at the Stadium Of Light, ready for a clash against the Sky Blues with Premier League football on the line.
It is fair to say that facing Frank Lampard’s side isn’t an ideal prospect for the Mackems, with one Sky Sports pundit sharing their concern with three days to go.
Sunderland to fear Coventry City in playoffs
There is little positivity to be had ahead of a clash against Frank Lampard’s side in the north east after recent performances against them.
The most recent clash against the Midlands outfit saw the Black Cats fall to a 3-0 defeat, which could act as a bad omen ahead of the playoffs.
This is especially the case with such a poor run of form behind the SR5, which has seen very little quality to hang your hat on.
| Date | Result |
| 15/03/25 | Coventry City 3-0 Sunderland |
| 09/11/24 | Sunderland 2-2 Coventry City |
| 23/12/23 | Sunderland 0-3 Coventry City |
| 26/08/23 | Coventry City 0-0 Sunderland |
| 25/02/23 | Coventry City 2-1 Sunderland |
By comparison, Coventry have been on an upward trajectory since Mark Robbins departed and look to be continuing that moving into the playoffs.
This has been echoed with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto hitting a 180 in his first attempt at playing darts, which Sky pundit Dougie Critchley has jokingly suggested he is fearful of for the Mackems.
Taking to X on 6 May, he said: “So not only are you telling me that we’ve lost 5 in a row and only won 2 of our last 10, which includes a 3-0 defeat against Coventry.
“But their players are throwing 180s at their first attempt. Do not like this momentum.”
Sunderland must turn form around v Coventry City
The Black Cats had such a positive start to the season that a poor run of form in the second half can be somewhat excused.
Someone like Wilson Isidor was simply superb in the early months of the campaign, but his drop in form has coincided with a run of poor results.
As a result, there is plenty of fear from supporters ahead of the two-legged playoff clash against Coventry, especially with how poor recent form has been against them.
It will be interesting to see if Le Bris can get the best out of the likes of Eliezer Mayenda against Lampard’s men and make their dart-throwing antics meaningless.