Middlesbrough and Coventry set for pivotal play-off second leg
Middlesbrough vs Coventry City - 17/05/2023
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Middlesbrough and Coventry City’s Championship play-off semi-final clash is finely poised at 0-0 ahead of the second leg at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Despite racking up 11 shots in the first leg, Coventry failed to register a single attempt on target at the CBS Arena, while Middlesbrough enjoyed 61% possession.
Boro will confident of sealing the deal on home soil, but Coventry won’t go down without a fight. According, the second-leg is destined to be a close-fought battle between two strong sides.
It is worth remembering that fourth-placed Middlesbrough finished five points above fifth-placed Coventry in the final Championship standings.
Having netted 84 goals this season, Boro are the second-highest scorers in the division, bagging three goals fewer than Burnley and 26 more than Coventry.
That said, Michael Carrick’s men head into the second leg in iffy form, having collected two wins, three draws and four losses across their past nine outings.
Middlesbrough have remained consistent on home soil, however, losing just one of their previous 11 matches at the Riverside Stadium.
As for Coventry City, they head into Wednesday’s showdown on an eight-game unbeaten streak, with three wins and five draws coming since their last loss.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Sky Blues have lost just one of their previous 18 Championship clashes, notching eight wins and nine draws in the process.
It is also worth noting that Coventry have avoided defeat in each of their last nine away league encounters, recording four wins and five draws along the way.
Having kept five clean sheets across their previous nine away league games – conceding just four goals in that sequence – Coventry will fancy their chances of reaching the final.
Head-to-head: After playing out a 1-1 draw on the final day of the regular season, Middlesbrough and Coventry have drawn each of their last two meetings.
With four wins for each side and five draws coming in the previous 13 meetings, there has been very little to separate Coventry and Boro in recent years.
Team news: Middlesbrough are currently without Matt Clark, Marcus Forss, Deal Fry and Aaron Ramsey due to injury, while Jonny Howson is a doubt for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Callum O’Hare, Kasey Palmer and Fabio Tavares find themselves on Coventry City’s injury list ahead of the second leg.
If the recent meetings between Middlesbrough and Coventry are anything to go by, Wednesday’s clash is destined to be a tight affair.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Boro and Coventry will dish up a low-scoring draw after 90 minutes, meaning extra-time and/or penalties will be required to determine the victor.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
CH
274923
X
1 - 1
2.06
15°
3.20
1.95
3.20
4.50
no
no
no
0 - 1(0 - 0)
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