Coventry City vs Leicester City Betting Pick | Eng. Championship

Eng. Championship

2011-08-06 - Coventry City vs Leicester City

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Coventry City v Leicester City
Football : English Championship
Saturday 6 August 2011 - Kickoff 12:30pm

Coventry City

Coventry City started last season in a bright manner and it looked like this 'sleeping giant' may finally have been waking up after spending a decade in the 2nd level of English football. However, they were once again involved in a relegation battle that led to the sacking of Aidy Boothroyd and his replacement Andy Thorn did well to keep them up.

This team have been tipped as one of the favourites for the drop this season after losing some key components in the Summer, most notably Marlon King and Kieron Westwood. Joe Murphy was signed from Scunthorpe to take Westwood's place between the sticks, but the squad in general does not look as strong as previous campaigns in which they have struggled.

The Sky Blues finished in 18th position last season and they were 9-5-9 at the Ricoh Arena, scoring 27 goals and conceding 26. They finished the season with 4 games unbeaten at home, but a quick look at the results showed the better teams in the Division came here and took the points with Norwich, Swansea, QPR, Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Cardiff all winning here.

Team news is not readily available, but after doing a bit of research, I have noticed that there are a few injuries in the Coventry squad which could mean some youth players are brought in. Joe Murphy will make his debut in goal.

Leicester City

Leicester City feel they have a Premier League stadium, a Premier League manager, and have been one of the big spenders in the Championship as the owners look to make sure they have a Premier League club on their hands in 9 months time.

It is understandable that Leicester, along with West Ham, are clear favourites to gain promotion this season after a Summer of purchases that look very good on paper. Matt Mills will be a big boost to the defence when he signed from Reading, while I really think the signing of Michael Johnson on loan could be what separates them from other teams. Sven Goran Eriksson has put together a squad that would not look that out of place in the lower levels of the Premier League, especially the starting XI.

The Foxes finished 10th in the Championship last season, 8 points off the Play Off positions, and they will really need to improve their away form if they want to move up to the Premier League. Last season they finished with a 6-4-13 record away from the Walkers Stadium (now the King Power Stadium), scoring 28 goals but conceding 44. The signings of Mills, Kasper Schmeichel, Paul Konchesky and John Paintsil should all improve that defensive record.

Leicester won just 1 of their last 7 away games in the Championship and it is no surprise to see their poor away record when considering they conceded 3 or more goals on their travels in 9 of their 23 away games.

Gelson Fernandes became the latest signing to join Leicester although I am unsure if he will be thrown straight into the first team for this game. Other team news is not yet available, but we can expect a few players to make their competitive debuts for the club after a busy Summer.

Head to Head

The last 4 games between these local rivals have ended in draws, including a 1-1 draw here last season.

Coventry are unbeaten in their last 6 home games against Leicester, although it has to be said that 5 of those have ended in draws.

They have met 14 times in the Championship over the last 10 years and Coventry have won just 1 of those games and Leicester have won 6.

Prediction

The opening day of the season is always a tough one to predict as teams are gelling together after doing their Summer business and the other issue is trying to reach the fitness levels they will have as they season progresses.

That means we can see surprises, but I am going for the Leicester win here to set a marker down for the season.

Coventry don't have the resources to match the Foxes and their squad has been weakened since the end of last season. The Sky Blues also lost to the best teams in the League at home last season, and I genuinely believe Leicester will be one of the better teams, if not the Champions, come May.

My concern is the fact Leicester will have a huge number of new signings likely playing in the starting line up and that could lead to a disjointed performance as they learn each other's games, but I think the odds for the away win are tempting enough for me to back.