Preview: Coventry City vs. Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

An in-form Coventry City side will host Preston North End on Saturday afternoon, hoping to claim their fourth successive victory in the Championship.

The Sky Blues need just four more points to be sure of avoiding relegation, while a win for the visitors at St Andrews would ensure their status in the second tier for next season.

Match preview

© Reuters

April has been a hugely successful month for Coventry, who are now edging closer to Championship survival, with an impressive run of four wins in their last five matches helping them climb 12 points clear of the bottom three.

After claiming all three points in crucial clashes against Rotherham United and Barnsley last week, the Sky Blues then beat Stoke City 3-2 away from home on Wednesday.

Coventry were pegged back twice in the second half, but it was substitute Viktor Gyokeres who scored the winning goal in the 78th minute, curling his effort from outside the area into the bottom right corner, to seal just their fourth league victory on the road this season.

Mark Robins was hoping to reach the 50-point milestone this season, which they have now surpassed with three games left to play, but the Sky Blues boss has urged his side to "keep picking up points" and climb further up the table.

Coventry have failed to win any of their last six meetings against Preston, including the 2-0 loss at Deepdale in December, but securing another win on Saturday could move them above the Lilywhites into 14th place.

© Reuters

April has also been a good month for Preston, who have accumulated eight points from their last five league matches, as many as they claimed in the previous two months combined.

The Lilywhites convincingly beat Derby County 3-0 on Tuesday night, thanks to goals from Ben Whiteman, Ched Evans and Ryan Ledson, to move them 13 points clear of the relegation zone, although Rotherham do have two games in hand.

Preston's interim manager Frankie McAvoy was pleased to see his side keep successive clean sheets after the 5-0 thrashing by Brentford earlier this month and has praised the club's "magnificent" team spirit since he took charge in March.

The Lilywhites are unable to match or better last season's ninth-place finish, but there is still a chance for them to end the campaign inside the top half of the Championship for the fifth time in six years. However, they will most likely need to claim maximum points from their final three games if they wish to achieve this.

Preston have won their last three league games against Coventry and securing another victory on Saturday would see them avoid relegation, removing any pressure heading into their final two matches against Barnsley and Nottingham Forest.

Team News

© Reuters

Coventry defender Josh Pask has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a head injury in the defeat to Bournemouth.

Midfielder Ben Sheaf is also expected to miss the rest of the campaign due to a hip flexor tear sustained last month and has therefore returned to his parent club Arsenal.

However, defender Fankaty Dabo has returned to training and his hamstring problem will be assessed before Saturday's game to see if he can feature.

Gyokeres will be hoping to start up front after scoring the winner in midweek, but the Swedish international is unlikely to get the nod ahead of Matt Godden or Tyler Walker.

For Preston, goalkeeper Declan Rudd (knee) and centre-back Patrick Bauer (Achilles tendon) are both out for the season, while midfielder Daniel Johnson – who has missed the last four games – remains doubtful with a knock.

Evans, who scored his first goal in eight appearances against Stoke, is expected to start up front and could be joined by Sean Maguire, who scored in the 2-0 victory against Coventry in December.

Maguire replacing Tom Barkhuizen in attack could be the only change to the starting lineup made by McAvoy this weekend.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Da Costa, Kelly, James, McCallum; O'Hare; Godden, Walker

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Van Den Berg, Whiteman, Browne, Ledson, Cunningham; Evans, Maguire

We say: Coventry City 1-1 Preston North End

Coventry failed to score in their previous three meetings against Preston but having found the net 10 times in their last five Championship fixtures, will fancy their chances of scoring on Saturday.

Both sides will be keen to finish the season strongly and although securing three points will be their target, we feel that a score draw could be on the cards.