Sunderland v Coventry City rivalry explained ahead of Championship playoffs
Sunderland’s clash with Coventry City has a lot more resting on it than just a spot in the playoff final at the end of the month.
Regis Le Bris’ side make the trip to Coventry on Friday (9 May), knowing just how big of a task lies ahead of them as they look to return to the Premier League.
Sunderland have a horrendous record against the Sky Blues, but one way or another, they will need to find a way to overcome that if they are to make it into the final.
Not only do their promotion hopes hinge on their ability to win, but there are plenty of bragging rights to be had as well.
Coventry ‘cheated’ Sunderland back in 1977
Sunderland will need to improve massively if they are to get anything away to Coventry, having failed to beat them away from the Stadium of Light in 40 years.
However, the rivalry dates back even further than that, and to be specific, back to the 1976/1977 season for a perhaps bizarre reason.
As the end of that campaign neared, both sides were involved in a relegations crap, and if the Black Cats were to avoid the drop, they had to either match, or better Coventry’s result on the day.
| Head-to-head | W | D | L |
| Sunderland | 12 | 18 | 18 |
| Coventry | 18 | 18 | 12 |
However, despite both games being scheduled to kick off at the same time, Jimmy Hill made the decision to delay their fixture by 15 minutes to let fans into the ground after some traffic delays.
Sunderland went on to lose their game against Everton 2-0, meaning Coventry, who were drawing 2-2 at the time, were aware that their current result would be enough to seal safety.
Since then, there have been a number of clashes between supporters, with one incident at the Stadium of Light seeing the travelling Sky Blue support throw objects from the away end into a crowd of Sunderland supporters below them.
Le Bris needs to find a way to break Coventry record
Off the back of a 1-0 defeat to QPR, optimism levels are certainly quite low on Wearside, and there will undoubtedly be tension ahead of Friday’s clash.
However, as showcased throughout the season, Sundelrand have plenty of quality, but face the difficult task of finding it again.