Coventry City vs Birmingham City Could Shape Championship Promotion

Coventry City and Birmingham City meet at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday at 12.30pm in a Midlands derby that could shape the early promotion picture in the Championship. Both clubs arrive on 10 points from six matches, with Coventry unbeaten and seeking to turn a recent run of draws into wins, and Birmingham aiming to build on a dramatic late victory over Swansea.

Frank Lampard’s side extended their unbeaten league run to six last weekend with a 0-0 draw at recently relegated Leicester City, a result that left the Sky Blues among only two teams yet to lose in the division. Coventry sit in the top half and are among the division’s most prolific scorers this season, having netted 15 in earlier fixtures, though they have failed to win in four matches across all competitions. Manager Lampard hailed goalkeeper Carl Rushworth after his performance at Leicester, according to club commentary, and has reportedly considered rotating the attack by bringing in Ellis Simms to freshen the forward line.

Birmingham arrive buoyed by Lyndon Dykes’s added time winner that ended a three-game losing run and handed them a 1-0 home victory over Swansea. Chris Davies’s side sit close...