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

After an intense affair on Friday saw Sunderland emerge 2-1 victors over Coventry City in their Championship play-off semi-final first leg, attention now shifts to the second leg at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.

The first leg looked to be heading for a draw until Coventry right-back Milan van Ewijk gifted Eliezer Mayenda the ball in the 88th minute and the Spaniard made no mistake to give the Black Cats their first win at the Sky Blues since 1985.

Coventry must overturn a 2-1 deficit if they have any hope of saving their season, while Sunderland must simply avoid defeat in order to continue their promotion quest.

Sports News Blitz writer Liam Caffry takes a look at five key battles that could decide who heads to Wembley for the play-off final and makes a score prediction.

Régis Le Bris vs Frank Lampard

This particular battle was won by Le Bris on Friday, no doubt about it.

He had Sunderland set up very deep to stop Coventry having any passing lanes through the middle.

That forced the home side to go wide and play an aerial game, where man of the match Dan Ballard used his height and defensive ability to nullify any threats.

While the Sky Blues attempted 34 crosses into the box on Friday, only six found a Coventry player.

Lampard will likely look to a different game plan on Tuesday as a result, but he has at least been in this tricky position before.

As Derby County manager, his side was a goal behind going into the second leg of their 2019 play-off semi-final against Leeds United, but a tactical masterclass sealed a 4-2 win and a trip to Wembley.

The Chelsea legend will be hoping for more of the same come Tuesday.

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Eliezer Mayenda vs Liam Kitching

Mayenda was Sunderland’s hero on Friday night, stealing the win in the 88th minute and giving the Black Cats a very rare win in Coventry.

The Spaniard will look to utilise his pace, power, and composure again on Tuesday while likely playing on the counter-attack against a Coventry team desperate to turn the tie around.

That desperation could play into Mayenda’s hands if it leaves a gap behind the defence for him to run into.

Centre-back Kitching will be looking to stop Mayenda, primarily by not allowing him any room to run in behind.

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Dan Ballard vs Brandon Thomas-Asante

Ballard was Sunderland’s standout performer in the first leg, winning man of the match, making 20 clearances, and coming out on top in 10 aerial duels.

The Northern Ireland international did a very good job in keeping striker Thomas-Asante quiet by limiting him to only 14 touches.

Thomas-Asante, for his part, will look to put things right in the second leg, having been taken off in the 70th minute last time out on account of his lack of threat.

He has just four goals in 36 league games to his name this campaign and may need to score on Tuesday to save his season on a personal level.

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Trai Hume vs Haji Wright

Another Sunderland player who performed well on Friday was Hume.

He was given the task of dealing with winger Wright, after the American had scored four goals against the Wearsiders during the regular season – including a hat-trick at the CBS Arena – and bested Hume in each meeting.

However, Hume didn’t give Wright any room to breathe this time around thanks to some crunching tackles and great defensive play.

Wright did eventually break free when he drifted away from Hume and fashioned a great chance to score with an exceptional turn in the box, but he was met with a fantastic last-man tackle by Jobe Bellingham.

At the Stadium of Light, Wright could look to repeat that passage of play.

Either way, this is set to be a great battle on Tuesday and a fitting finale to the pair’s story this season.

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Jobe Bellingham vs Jack Rudoni

This is probably the most evenly matched battle if we are going by what happened in the first leg, with both players having massive moments at the CBS Arena.

Jobe had a quieter game than Sunderland fans are used to, but it was due to the structure of the team being so deep and he did the defensive job he was given perfectly.

In contrast, Rudoni saw more of the ball and got on the end of a cross to equalise for Coventry, two minutes after the hosts had fallen 1-0 down in the second half.

Despite having a quiet game, however, Jobe showed up when it mattered, making arguably the biggest tackle of his career when stopping a certain goal from Wright in injury time.

The clash between these two talents will be less about each other and more about who can provide the big moment for their team when it matters most.

Summary

I think that the game will once again be a tight affair, with neither side pulling away from the other.

After all, it was clear on Friday just how evenly matched the teams are and how important one goal can be.

Ultimately, I predict that the Black Cats will shade a narrow game and earn themselves a trip to Wembley.

Score prediction: Sunderland 1-0 Coventry City (7/1 with Bet365)

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