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Coventry City
Championship | Gameweek 4
Aug 21, 2021 at 3pm UK
Ricoh Arena
Reading logo

Coventry
2 - 1
Reading

Allen (62'), Godden (90+8')
Hyam (5'), Maatsen (45'), O'Hare (78'), Sheaf (90+4'), Hamer (90+5')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Swift (40' pen.)
Dele-Bashiru (50'), Rinomhota (75'), Clarke (90+1'), (90+8')

Preview: Coventry City vs. Reading - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Coventry City and Reading, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Coventry City will look to build on an encouraging start to the season when they host Reading in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Sky Blues have two wins from their first three games and sit in eighth, while the Royals are 17th on three points.


Match preview

Coventry City's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring their first goal against Blackpool in the Championship on August 17, 2021© Reuters

After coming from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on the opening weekend, Coventry lost 1-0 to Barnsley before bouncing back to beat Blackpool 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Viktor Gyokeres scored his second goal of the season to secure the win at Bloomfield Road, as Mark Robins hailed "some great defensive performances" in his side's first clean sheet in seven league games.

Following their two-year exile, the Sky Blues will be eager to make the Coventry Building Society Arena a fortress this season and Kyle McFadzean's 96th-minute winner against Forest a fortnight ago was the perfect homecoming.

Coventry have only won one of the last 12 encounters with Reading, but that was a 3-2 victory at St Andrew's last season.

After hosting the Royals, Robins's men face a tricky trip to early Championship front-runners Queens Park Rangers before August is out.

Reading manager Veljko Paunovic pictured in December 2020© Reuters

There is not as much early season positivity in the Reading camp, as the Royals have lost two of their opening three games and have conceded a league-high seven goals.

On Tuesday night they handed Bristol City their first league win since March; the Robins triumphed 3-2, having been two goals up inside 14 minutes following some poor set-piece defending from Veljko Paunovic's side.

Off the pitch, their transfer activity remains restricted by the EFL and loanee Tom Dele-Bashiru and free transfer Junior Hoilett are the club's only signings of the summer so far.

It means that their substitutes' bench has mainly been made up of academy players, but it has allowed 20-year-old Femi Azeez to take a starring role and he has two goals to his name so far.

Reading have not won away from home since the end of February, and after their trip to the West Midlands they visit Huddersfield Town next weekend.

Coventry City Championship form:
  • W
  • L
  • W

Coventry City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Reading Championship form:
  • L
  • W
  • L

Reading form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L



Team News

Coventry City manager Mark Robins pictured on August 1, 2021© Reuters

Mark Robins could name an unchanged Coventry team after their midweek win, although Martyn Waghorn is pushing for a recall in attack.

Tyler Walker is sidelined for the next few weeks with a shoulder issue, but the Sky Blues welcomed Matty Godden back to the bench against Blackpool after a foot injury.

A goal for Viktor Gyokeres would see him take his tally for the campaign to three, the same number he achieved in the entirety of last season in the Championship.

Veljko Paunovic has confirmed that Reading will be without last season's top scorer Lucas Joao until January after he suffered a hip injury against Preston North End last weekend.

George Puscas started in Joao's place in midweek, while 17-year-old Jahmari Clarke came off the bench to make his Championship debut so will be pushing for a start.

Paunovic also confirmed that Ovie Ejaria's absence so far this season is due to the midfielder testing positive for coronavirus, so he remains out for the trip to the West Midlands.

The Royals announced the signing of Junior Hoilett on Thursday evening and the Canadian is eligible to make his debut on Saturday.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Moore; Hyam, McFadzean, Clarke-Salter; Dabo, Hamer, Sheaf, Maatsen; Allen, O'Hare; Gyokeres

Reading possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Morrison, Moore, McIntyre; Yiadom, Laurent, Rinomhota, Bristow; Swift; Puscas, Azeez


SM words green background

We say: Coventry City 1-1 Reading

A difficult one to call this, as Reading have had no problems scoring goals this season but Coventry look tight defensively. The Sky Blues will be eager to get another win under their belts on home turf, but we think it will end level.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Coventry City win with a probability of 39%. A win for Reading had a probability of 32.93% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Coventry City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.08%) and 2-0 (7.32%). The likeliest Reading win was 0-1 (10.72%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.16%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Coventry City would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Coventry vs Reading

Coventry City
57.9%
Draw
26.3%
Reading
15.8%
57
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Coventry City manager Mark Robins pictured on August 8, 2021
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