Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Championship clash between Coventry City and Ipswich Town, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Potentially two matches away from a long-awaited return to the Premier League, Ipswich Town will make a trip to the West Midlands to face Coventry City in the Championship on Tuesday night.
The Sky Blues' playoff hopes are dead and buried following a hectic and emotional last few weeks, whereas the Tractor Boys' dreams of escaping the second tier are well and truly alive.
Match preview
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Facing their fourth game in just 10 games at the end of a crazy 2023-24 campaign, Coventry City were only able to force a share of the spoils as they travelled to relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon, when the Sky Blues were up against it to avoid a fourth straight loss in the Championship.
Following a rather lacklustre first period, Coventry centre-back Liam Kitching was the recipient of his marching orders for the third time this season - the most a single player has collected during a season in the club's history - however the 10-man visitors were able to keep Sammie Szmodics and Rovers at bay until the end.
Heading into the final two matches of the campaign, Mark Robins's side are currently occupying ninth position in the second-tier standings, eight points behind sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion, who will be looking to keep Hull City in seventh at bay on the last day of the season.
A positive for the Sky Blues on Saturday was that they managed to collect their eighth clean sheet of the campaign, with the West Midlands outfit performing significantly worse in defence compared to when they reached the playoff final at Wembley last term against Luton Town.
Back-to-back matches at the Coventry Building Society Arena will bring the curtain down on a pulsating but ultimately successful season for Robins's troops, who have fared reasonably well at their Midlands base over the course of the term, losing just four times in 21 Championship contests.
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Despite extending their winless run in the Championship to four matches on Saturday night at the MKM Stadium, Ipswich Town are still in an unbelievable position to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League within the next week following a pulsating 3-3 draw with Hull City.
As a consequence of the Tractor Boys taking the lead on three separate occasions in Yorkshire courtesy of a George Hirst strike and Omari Hutchinson's sensational brace, there will be regrets that they were unable to hold on for all three points, with Hull's Noah Ohio netting an 87th-minute equaliser.
That being said, Kieran McKenna's charges still have their promotion fate in their own hands heading into the final two matches of the regular season, with four points from matches against Coventry and League One-bound Huddersfield Town enough to guarantee a spot in the top two.
A point in Yorkshire versus Liam Rosenior's Tigers meant that the Tractor Boys have now reached the 90-point mark in back-to-back EFL campaigns following their second-placed finish in League One last term - a feat that cannot be dismissed whatever happens over the next week.
Ipswich are unbeaten in four matches at the Coventry Building Society Arena stretching back to January 2011, and the Tractor Boys will be looking to secure maximum points from the Sky Blues this season after winning the reverse fixture 2-1 at Portman Road in early December.
Coventry City Championship form:
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
Coventry City form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
Ipswich Town Championship form:
- W
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
Team News
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Due to Kitching's three-game suspension and Luis Binks's Achilles injury, Coventry only have two available centre-backs for Tuesday night in the form of Bobby Thomas and Joel Latibeaudiere.
The Sky Blues are also without the services of winger Fabio Tavares, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United.
Victor Torp and Ben Sheaf were both absent from the matchday squad at Ewood Park due to stomach and muscle injuries respectively, with Robins providing limited insight into the condition of the latter on Saturday.
Returning to the first-team fold for the first time since Boxing Day, Hirst found the net at Hull on Saturday night and could keep Kieffer Moore out of the XI once again.
Wes Burns was also back in the side following his own hamstring injury, with the Welshman providing a trademark assist for the Tractor Boys' opening goal.
Brandon Williams remains in the Ipswich medical room due to a leg issue, meaning that Axel Tuanzebe and Harry Clarke will continue to battle it out for a place at right-back.
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Collins; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Bidwell; O'Hare, Kelly, Eccles, Wright, Palmer; Simms
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson; Hirst
We say: Coventry City 1-3 Ipswich Town
Coventry's performances have understandably dropped massively following an emotional-draining fortnight, meaning that we cannot envisage the Sky Blues halting the Ipswich juggernaut here.
There will be disappointment in the air for the Tractor Boys after conceding late on at Hull, however that minor setback should spur the visitors on to move one step closer to a major achievement on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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