Sunderland vs Coventry - Preview, Best Bets & H2H Record
- JN Value Betting
- May 11
- 3 min read
Updated: May 13
BEST BETS:
ELIEZER MAYENDA - TO HAVE 1+ SHOT ON TARGET - 4/5 (UNIBET) - 1PT
BOBBY THOMAS - TO HAVE 2+ SHOTS - 9/5 (PADDY POWER) - 0.5PTS
BOBBY THOMAS - TO SCORE ANYTIME - 11/1 (PRICED UP) - 0.25PTS
TRAI HUME - TO BE CARDED - 13/5 (PADDY POWER) - 1PT
LIAM KITCHING - TO BE CARDED - 13/5 (UNIBET) - 1PT
TRAI HUME & LIAM KITCHING - TO BE CARDED - 10.07/1 (PADDY POWER) - 0.25PTS
Despite failing to win any of their last six matches heading into Friday night's first leg against Coventry, Sunderland managed to claim a vital one-goal victory, and they'll look to protect that lead back at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening. A catastrophic error from Milan van Ewijk handed Sunderland the upper hand in this one heading to the halfway mark, and Frank Lampard's Coventry side will be out to avenge their first defeat against the Black Cats in eleven meetings to book their place in the Final next weekend.
Although there is a quick turnaround between the two legs, I'd expect to see Regis Le Bris opt for a similar lineup to what we saw on Friday, with Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda leading the line for the visitors. Both were on the scoresheet in the first leg, with the latter profiting from the aforementioned error from van Ewijk. Mayenda is averaging 1.15 shots on target per 90 this season, and has hit the target in 19 of his 24 starts this campaign - including his two against Coventry. Despite his side holding a slender lead, and the likelihood of them looking to protect that lead, I was surprised to see 4/5 available on him to have a shot on target in this one. As mentioned, it is likely that Sunderland will sit in and look to hold onto their lead and that could see them possess a danger on the counter attack with Mayenda a likely beneficiary of this.
Given the nature of the tie, it's likely that Coventry will set off on the front foot in this one, and look to dominate to get themselves back into it. This leads me to believe they'll have a high number of set pieces, they have had 23 corners across the sides' three meetings this season - including ten on Friday evening. Bobby Thomas looks a prime candidate in the Coventry ranks to cause Sunderland problems from these scenarios. Thomas is averaging 2 shots per game across his last twelve appearances for the Sky Blues and has hit that average in eight of those twelve matches - including both fixtures against Sunderland. He has posed a goalscoring threat in that time as well, bagging three goals. Those goals have taken his season total to five, and four of those have come by way of set pieces. A whopping 82% of Thomas' shots have come from set piece situations this season and with Coventry chasing the tie, it looks likely that Thomas will be involved once again.
With the tie hanging in the balance, it is likely to see that it will be a busy evening for referee Andy Madley. Although Madley doesn't strike you as the referee who will dish out a number of cards, I feel that the occasion could allow for him to do so. He is averaging 3.83 cards awarded per game this season, which isn't high in comparison to other referees throughout the Premier League and Championship. However, Madley has given five or more cards in 10 of his 24 matches this season, showing that he'll give the cards out when the match allows. This has led me to delve into the player card markets, and notably towards Sunderland's Trai Hume. The Northern Ireland international has received 26 cards across the last two seasons, including in three of his last four appearances against Coventry. Another player who is no stranger to a card in this fixture is Liam Kitching. Two of his eight cards this season have come against the Black Cats, and given the way the tie is set, I can see him picking up another here. I am happy to have a small play on the pair of them to pick up a card with just over 10/1 on offer - this selection landed in the meeting between the sides in March.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
LAST 5 MATCHES:
09/05/2025 - Coventry 1-2 SUNDERLAND (Championship)
15/03/2025 - COVENTRY 3-0 Sunderland (Championship)
09/11/2024 - Sunderland 2-2 Coventry (Championship)
23/12/2023 - Sunderland 0-3 COVENTRY (Championship)
26/08/2023 - Coventry 0-0 Sunderland (Championship)
