Bristol City – Coventry City

The leader of the title race will secure his fifth consecutive win in the championship.

After reaching the Championship play-offs last season and beating Sheffield United in the opening round of the current campaign, many English pundits saw Bristol City as a serious candidate for promotion. However subsequent events underscored the Robins' unpreparedness for major historic achievements. As of today, the team's form and the league situation indicate Bristol City's inability to even repeat last year's achievement. Ahead of the 36th round, the side sit in 10th place in the table, seven points behind Wrexham, who occupy the last spot in the top six. Coventry City also featured in the Championship play-offs last season. Then the team achieved interim success thanks to the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager. The legendary England international and Chelsea midfielder had not shown himself as a coach before Coventry City, but here he exceeded all expectations. By the start of December the Sky Blues dominated the Championship and at one point held a lead of more than ten points over the division's second-placed team. However after that Coventry City fell into a two-month spell of poor form, which cannot even be described as a dip in form. Lampard's side won only every third to fourth match and lost the lead for one round. Fortunately, at that moment Coventry City's players' character came to the fore. Bookmakers set the visitors as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.00 on their victory. Bristol City have lately been alternating between wins and losses. In the previous round the team lost to one of its rivals, Watford. Moreover, the defeat was recorded on the Robins' home ground. It did not lift the spirits of Bristol City fans that the team was eliminated from the FA Cup on Tuesday. Moreover, for this match against Port Vale Bristol City spent 120 minutes on the pitch, which could affect preparation for the meeting with Coventry City. The visitors in this fixture had won four in a row, not only reclaiming first place but also gaining a five-point lead over the nearest pursuer. Coventry City, finally, have endured a slump, so they are now more than confident.