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

Bournemouth could have the chance to break into the Championship playoff positions when they host Coventry City on Saturday.

The Cherries are currently in seventh, a point behind Reading who they have a game in hand over, while Coventry sit in 20th and are not yet clear of relegation danger.

Match preview

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Reading travel to Watford on Friday night, and if they drop points at Vicarage Road then Bournemouth will have the opportunity to leapfrog them the following day.

The Cherries seem to be hitting form at just the right time, winning three consecutive league games for the first time since November; they have not won four league games in a row since December 2014 during their previous spell in the Championship.

Jonathan Woodgate's side earned a 2-0 victory away at Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday as Philip Billing scored for the third successive match and Arnaut Danjuma netted his 11th of the season; Asmir Begovic saved a late penalty from Adam Armstrong to keep his clean sheet intact.

Bournemouth have now scored in each of their last 10 matches, and only Brentford and Norwich City have netted more times across the whole campaign in the Championship.

In addition, only the Canaries and Watford have picked up more points at home in the Championship than Bournemouth this season.

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This will be Coventry's first trip to Dean Court since February 2013, when the two clubs were in League One. They were 2-0 winners that day but lost 3-1 at St. Andrew's in this season's reverse fixture at the start of October – a result that took Bournemouth to the top of the Championship.

The Sky Blues were still finding their feet back in the second tier at the time, but they are still yet to drop into the relegation zone this season.

A 3-1 win over Bristol City on Easter Monday was a huge boost to their survival bid and moved Mark Robins's side seven points clear of 22nd-placed Rotherham United, who they face in a crunch clash next Thursday, and it was only their second victory in eight matches.

Matty Godden scored his first goal since October, and the striker will now be looking to end the season in the same form he started it before injury disrupted his gametime.

No team has picked up fewer points away from home in the Championship this season than Coventry (11), who have won just twice on the road, while only Luton Town have scored fewer away goals than the Sky Blues.

Team News

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Bournemouth have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the weekend, meaning that Woodgate could be tempted to name an unchanged team.

If that is the case, David Brooks will start consecutive matches for the first time in two months as he seeks a first goal since December.

If Billing gets on the scoresheet for a fourth successive game, it will mean he has scored more league goals this season (seven) than in the rest of his career combined.

Dom Hyam is expected to return for Coventry after recovering from illness, with Michael Rose and Maxime Biamou to be checked on in the build up to the game.

Robins handed a surprise first Championship start to academy product Josh Eccles at right wing-back in the win over Bristol City, and the 21-year-old put in an impressive performance so would be unlucky not to keep his place.

Incredibly, Monday's game was the first time that Godden and Tyler Walker had started upfront together, and the partnership is set to stay intact for the trip to the south coast.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Smith, Carter-Vickers, S. Cook, Kelly; Pearson, Lerma; Brooks, Billing, Danjuma; Solanke

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Eccles, Kelly, James, McCallum; O'Hare; Walker, Godden

We say: Bournemouth 2-0 Coventry City

Despite a confidence-boosting win for Coventry on Monday, this will be a much tougher challenge for the Sky Blues, particularly with their poor away record. Bournemouth will eager to carry on building momentum in their playoff push and should get all three points.