Championship news: Coventry City vs Sunderland – Five key battles and score prediction

The Championship play-offs are here, with fourth-placed Coventry City welcoming fifth-placed Sunderland to the CBS Arena on Friday for the first leg of a much-anticipated semi-final.

There is an interesting rivalry between the two teams, stemming from then Coventry boss Jimmy Hill delaying a kick-off 48 years ago in an act which led to Sunderland being relegated – and the Wearsiders have held a grudge ever since.

Sunderland players have, however, struggled to punish Coventry for that slight in recent years, last coming out on top in this fixture in 2007 under Roy Keane, although play-off games tend to care little about form and records.

Sports News Blitz writer Liam Caffry breaks down five key battles ahead of the clash.

Frank Lampard vs Régis Le Bris

After a difficult couple of years in management, and despite everyone’s doubts about his taking over from Mark Robins, Frank Lampard has done an incredible job with the Sky Blues.

Taking the reins in mid-November when Coventry was sitting in 17th, just two points above the bottom three, he led the team to 16 victories in 29 games, drawing four and only losing nine on the way to securing fifth place and a play-off spot.

Similarly to Lampard, when Régis Le Bris took over at Sunderland, there were doubts around how the Frenchman would do.

Having just been relegated from Ligue 1 in France with Lorient, he was given the head coach role at a club that believed it should be a mainstay in the Premier League.

Those who doubted him were quickly proved wrong, however, as he won his first four games in the Championship and topped the table in October.

Eventually, the firepower and quality of Burnley, Sheffield United, and Leeds United came into play and Coventry fell to fourth, where they stayed for the remainder of a solid season.

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Ben Sheaf vs Enzo Le Fée

Coventry skipper Ben Sheaf has been a key player for the Sky Blues this season in the holding midfield role alongside Matt Grimes, playing 29 games and only missing out on more due to injury.

He offers quality at both ends of the pitch, averaging 7.27 progressive passes and 2.66 tackles per game.

On Friday, the captain will have a clear goal in mind: to nullify Sunderland’s attacking quality in midfield, which means ‘doing a job’ on Enzo Le Fée.

Le Fée seemed to set the Championship alight when he first signed on loan from Roma in January, impressing on his debut against Burnley and then carrying the Black Cats to their first victory at Middlesbrough in the league since 2005.

However, he got injured in February, subsequently missing five games, and has been slowly integrating back into the team since.

The Frenchman hasn’t always played in his natural position but will likely be in the attacking midfield role against Coventry, which may create problems for the Sky Blues.

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Jack Rudoni vs Jobe Bellingham

Attacking midfielder Jack Rudoni will want to be Coventry’s key man this week, just as he was against Middlesbrough on the final day of the season, when he scored two and secured his team a play-off spot against a play-off rival.

The Englishman has had a great season, missing only three games due to injury while scoring nine and providing 12 assists.

He will look to cause Sunderland’s midfield problems and add to his goal tally on Friday night.

Jobe Bellingham, on the other hand, will look to stop the threat of Rudoni.

He will likely take on a deeper role in order to accommodate Le Fée, which would mean his defensive responsibilities are increased.

This should not be a problem for the EFL Championship Young Player of the Season as his stats show that he makes 2.36 clearances, pulls off 1.85 tackles, and wins 1.77 aerial duels per game.

Indeed, the match-up between these two young English talents may end up being the most impressive on the field.

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Haji Wright vs Trai Hume

Haji Wright has been a thorn in Sunderland’s side this season, scoring one in a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light in November before grabbing a hat-trick in the 3-0 home win in March.

The American has missed out on a lot of football recently due to injuries, only playing 27 games in the Championship, but he has still managed to find the net on 12 occasions.

He will face off with Trai Hume on Friday, who has struggled to deal with Wright this season but will nevertheless be on a high, having earned Sunderland’s Player of the Season award.

The Northern Irishman has made 164 tackles and interceptions in the league this term, the fifth-best in the Championship, and has nine goal involvements.

Hume’s ability to attack may actually work to hinder Wright's tendency to stay high and could help Sunderland put the American off his game.

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Jake Bidwell vs Eliezer Mayenda

Throughout the season, Jake Bidwell struggled to get himself a place in the Coventry starting 11, serving as an unused sub on no less than 10 occasions.

However, he may have changed that pattern at a critical time, having played the full game against Middlesbrough last week in what was Coventry’s most important game of the season.

If the 32-year-old does start on Friday, though, he is in for a tough game as 19-year-old Eliezer Mayenda will be chomping at the bit to attack him in a footrace.

Mayenda is one of the fastest players in the Championship after all, recently running the ball from outside his own box to inside the Bristol City penalty area to score his eighth goal of the season.

The Spaniard has improved a lot over the course of the campaign and has also turned provider on occasion, assisting five goals in the league.

By all accounts, he is shaping up to be a real threat to Coventry’s hopes of promotion.

Summary

This feels like a match-up that is impossible to call as two similar teams in similar form meet, with one not beating the other in 18 years but comfortably finishing above them in the table.

It has all the makings of a very close affair, so I think the first leg will end in a draw and everything will be left to play for at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

Score prediction: Coventry City 1-1 Sunderland (5/1 with Bet365)

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