- 1 Coventry City vs Sunderland: 19th hosts 20th, and only one of them has had a week off
- 2 Coventry City: the same XI, a week’s rest and one big home win
- 3 Sunderland: unbeaten in Europe, one point from four away league games
- 4 Free Premier League Prediction: Coventry City vs Sunderland
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Coventry City vs Sunderland: 19th hosts 20th, and only one of them has had a week off 
The bottom two meet at the CBS Arena on Saturday. Coventry are 19th with six points from eight games (W2 L6, goals 6-15), and Sunderland are 20th with five (W1 D2 L5, goals 6-14).
Kick-off is 15:00 UK time on Saturday 31 October. Frank Lampard’s side lost 1-0 at home to Fulham last Saturday, Oscar Bobb scoring on 80 minutes, and Sunderland drew 0-0 with Leeds a day later to stretch their winless run in the top flight to six games.
The schedules couldn’t be more different. Coventry went out of the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa on 16 September and aren’t in Europe, so they’ve had a full week. Régis Le Bris’s side played in Poznan on Thursday 22 October and host Brentford in the cup on Wednesday night.
Coventry have had the better of the recent league meetings. They won 3-0 at Sunderland on 23 December 2023 and 3-0 at home on 15 March 2025, and the 2-2 at the Stadium of Light in November 2024 means Sunderland haven’t beaten them in four league games between the clubs.
The last two meetings came in the Championship play-off semi-final in May 2025, which Sunderland won 2-1 at Coventry in the first leg. The bookmakers have the visitors as slight favourites at around 2.50, with Coventry at 2.70, and I think that’s the wrong way round.
Over and under 2.5 goals are both priced at 1.86, and both teams to score is 1.70. With six league goals each from eight games, neither side has given the market much reason to expect a lot of goals.
Coventry City: the same XI, a week’s rest and one big home win 
Four of Coventry’s six league goals came in one afternoon, the 4-1 win over Newcastle on 12 October. Outside that game they’ve scored twice in seven league matches.
The home record shows the same pattern. Lampard’s side lost 1-0 to Hull, 5-0 to Brighton and 1-0 to Fulham at the CBS Arena, with the Newcastle win the only exception. Their other league win came away, 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on 19 September.
The Fulham game cost them a centre-back. Bobby Thomas went off around the hour with a left knee problem and ice on it, and there’s no diagnosis yet, although he hasn’t been ruled out. Mfuni, on loan from Manchester City, is the cover, and Amenda is still missing with a calf injury.
The spending was heavy for a promoted club. Chérif arrived from Fenerbahçe for £20.5m on 19 August, goalkeeper Rushworth cost £22.5m on 4 August and Yirenkyi £23.1m three days later, and all three started against Fulham.
Tchaouna (£20m, 11 July), Awoniyi (17 August) and Pinnock (26 August) came in as well, so Lampard has options if Thomas isn’t fit. Pinnock and van Ewijk started together against Fulham.
Lampard has kept faith with almost the same side for the last two games, and he has had a full week to prepare this one with no cup or European fixture in between. Before Fulham, they lost 3-1 at Tottenham on 19 October.
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Sunderland: unbeaten in Europe, one point from four away league games 
Sunderland haven’t lost in the Europa League. They won 2-1 at Torreense on 15 October and drew 1-1 at Lech Poznan a week later, when Tutierov scored, and they’ve taken seven points from three games in the competition.
The league is another matter. Away from home they’ve collected one point from four games: 2-1 at Ipswich, 1-1 at Brentford, 5-3 at Manchester City and 2-0 at Bournemouth on 18 October, all defeats except the draw in west London.
Kevin Danso was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity at Bournemouth and served his one-match ban against Leeds, so he’s available again. Dan Ballard is out with a hamstring injury, Thomas Meunier has a groin problem and Wilson Isidor is carrying a knock.
Brian Brobbey’s return helps the attack. He came back against Leeds for his first appearance since 20 September, and he and Isidor are the two strikers Le Bris has missed most during a run in which Sunderland have failed to score in three of their last four league games.
The fixture list is the bigger problem. Saturday will be Sunderland’s fourth game in ten days, after Poznan on 22 October, Leeds on 25 October and the cup tie with Brentford on 28 October, and Diarra only made his first start of the season in Poland.
Probable lineup Coventry City: Rushworth; Pinnock, B. Thomas, van Ewijk, Dasilva; Grimes, Rudoni, Yirenkyi, Sakamoto; Thomas-Asante, Chérif
Probable lineup Sunderland: Roefs; Mukiele, Hume, Reinildo, Alderete; Xhaka, Sadiki, Le Fée, N. Angulo, Rigg; J. Angulo
Free Premier League Prediction: Coventry City vs Sunderland
Our prediction: Coventry City to win (2.70)
Coventry to win at 2.70 is my pick. They’ve had a week’s rest, they’ve named a settled side, and they face a Sunderland team playing its fourth game in ten days with one away league point all season.
Coventry’s home form is poor, with three defeats in four, and it would be wrong to ignore that. Those defeats came against Hull, Brighton and Fulham, though, and two of them were by a single goal.
Sunderland have scored six league goals in eight games and haven’t won any of their last six. With the head-to-head in Coventry’s favour and the legs on their side, I’d take the home win over a price that treats a tired bottom club as favourite.
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