Sunderland vs Coventry predictions: Black Cats set to seal Wembley place
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- Sunderland lead 2-1 from first leg
- Winners will face either Sheffield United or Bristol City at Wembley
- Recommended bet: Sunderland to win
Sunderland secured a tight 2-1 win at Coventry in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final and can now complete the job and progress to Wembley with victory at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday.
The Black Cats profited from a poor backpass from Milan van Ewijk late on at the Coventry Building Society Arena as Eliezer Mayenda seized on the loose ball before scoring expertly past home keeper Ben Wilson to seal what could turn out to be a crucial win.
The Sky Blues must try and respond at the Stadium of Light while Sunderland will attempt to hold off any fightback as they look to stay on course for a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Team news
Regis Le Bris is poised to field a similar side for the second leg with Romaine Mundle, Aji Alese, Ian Poveda and Jayden Danns all still on the sidelines for the home side going into Tuesday's clash.
Coventry boss Frank Lampard must decide whether to stick with Brandon Thomas-Asante up front after he was recalled for the first leg with Ellis Simms also hoping to be in contention to start.
Norman Bassette, Oliver Dovin and Victor Torp are all likely to miss out on the second leg for the Sky Blues through injury.
The stats
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Sunderland finished fourth in the table, seven points ahead of fifth-placed Coventry.
The regular season meetings between the two sides ended in a 2-2 draw at Sunderland in November, when the Black Cats were 2-0 up at half-time, while Coventry triumphed 3-0 at home in March.
City had 14 shots in the first leg, compared to Sunderland's tally of 10, but both teams had three shots on target on Friday.
Sunderland ended the regular season poorly, losing their last five league games.
Coventry had an inconsistent end to the campaign, winning two of their last five games, while losing two and drawing the other.
Prediction
Friday's semi-final first-leg could have gone either way as two seemingly even-matched teams squared off at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
City dominated possession but Sunderland managed the same amount of shots on target (three) as the hosts, and Le Bris' side had to wait to the closing stages before grabbing a dramatic victory.
At home, the Black Cats are likely to have more of the ball than they did in the first leg but Coventry are sure to go looking for the early goal they need to get back level overall in what should be another tense occasion.
Frank Lampard's men will have been left deflated by the manner of their late defeat at home, though, and Sunderland should do enough to carve out a win at the Stadium of Light to seal their place at Wembley.
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