Sunderland v Coventry preview: Team news, head-to-head, where to watch, prediction
Sunderland host managerless Coventry City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as the Black Cats look to continue their unbeaten run.
Successive 0-0 draws against QPR and Preston have slightly halted the momentum that Sunderland picked up but a home encounter against Coventry provides an opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Coventry made the decision to sack Mark Robins prior to the fixture leaving supporters baffled.
Preview
Sunderland enter the game off the back of two relatively poor performances in which they were held to goalless draws against two of the bottom four.
The absence of Jobe proved to be a huge blow in a game at Deepdale where Sunderland failed to get a hold of the game and the 19-year-old will serve the second game of his three-match ban against the Sky Blues.
The Black Cats remain top of the Championship although a defeat on Saturday, 9 November could change that if Sheffield United win.
As for the visitors, Saturday provides an interesting spectacle with manager Robins facing the sack just a few days earlier.
The decision left supporters wondering about the ambitions of the ownership who will no doubt voice their concerns at the Stadium of Light.
With just four wins in 14, Coventry have had a rough start to the campaign.
Form Guide (Championship)
Sunderland – WWWDD
Coventry – LLDWWL
Head to Head (Championship/League One)
Sunderland 0-3 Coventry (December, 2023)
Coventry 0-0 Sunderland (August, 2023)
Coventry 2-1 Sunderland (February, 2023)
Sunderland 1-1 Coventry (July, 2022)
Coventry 1-0 Sundeland (July, 2020)
Team News
The Wearsiders welcomed Eliezer Mayenda and Dan Ballard back to the squad for their encounter with Preston, the former coming on as a late second-half substitute.
Jobe will serve the second game of his three-match ban for a red card picked up against QPR.
Anthony Patterson could return to the starting lineup although Regis Le Bris may opt to keep Simon Moore between the sticks following three clean sheets.
As for the visitors, their most notable absentee will be former Black Cats loanee Ellis Simms who will miss out.
Alongside him is Jamie Allen, Jake Bidwell and Ben Wilson who are all doubts for the encounter.
Predicted lineups
Sunderland – Moore, Hume, Mepham, O’Nien, Cirkin, Rigg, Browne, Neil, Roberts, Mundle, Isidor
Coventry – Dovin, Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Binks, Ewijk, Torp, Eccles, Sheaf, Rudoni, Wright, Sakamoto
Where to watch?
Sunderland’s encounter with QPR will only be available to watch for customers outside of the UK as per EFL restrictions for 3 pm Saturday kick-offs.
Score prediction – Sunderland 1-0 Coventry
Sunderland have found it hard to score goals in their last two outings but a home encounter provides an excellent opportunity to rectify that.
The Black Cats are unbeaten at home, winning all but one of their Championship clashes with a draw against Leeds United.
Le Bris’ side will be favourites heading into the game and I imagine they will rise to the expectation and pick up three points.
In other Sunderland news, Chris Rigg has emerged as a potential £20m January transfer target for Crystal Palace.
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