Credit: Imago

Rahul Lakhani

Sun 11 May 2025 20:31, UK

Sunderland secured a superb victory in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final against Coventry City, but they still have work to do.

Regis Le Bris oversaw an unlikely victory away at Coventry as his side snatched a late goal to bring a lead back to Wearside.

Sunderland won 2-1 despite coming into the match in horrific form, and are now 90 minutes from Wembley as they aim to reach the play-off final.

With all to play for in the second leg at the Stadium of Light, the result has now been predicted by a supercomputer – and it is pleasant reading for Sunderland fans.

Sunderland backed to beat Coventry in Championship play-offs

Sunderland will face Coventry in the second leg at the Stadium of Light in front of their home fans, and they will hope to see out the tie as they are currently 2-1 up on aggregate.

Opta’s supercomputer has now backed Sunderland to not only see out the tie and reach the final, but to also win on the night.

They have given Sunderland a 44.5 per cent chance of victory on Tuesday night, with Coventry given a 28.7 per cent probability of winning.

A draw is seen as the least likely result, set at just 26.8 per cent, but even this would see Sunderland reach Wembley, where they will likely face Sheffield United.

Sunderland recover from dismal form

Sunderland finished comfortably in fourth place, seven points clear of Coventry, but this gap should have been wider.

The Black Cats lost five of their last six matches before the first leg, and their disastrous form could have spelled trouble for two legs against a strong Coventry side.

Wilson Isidor was also enduring a lengthy goal drought, but he broke his duck as he netted the opener, and helped Sunderland recover from their miserable run.

They will now hope to see out the second leg in the best possible way, and reach Wembley to potentially return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.