Hull v Coventry: Oppose timid Tigers at home | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Coventry have earned the fourth-most points since Frank Lampard's appointment

Relegation-threatened Hull host play-off chasing Coventry in the Championship on Monday night. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing the visitors to pick up a positive result...

Hull v CoventryMonday April 14, 20:00Live on Sky Sports

Selles insists Hull are competing

Hull manager Ruben Selles has said his team are as competitive as any team in the league, after a 1-0 defeat to Watford last midweek kept them perilously close to the relegation zone. The Tigers offered little in attack at Vicarage Road, leaving them two points above the drop-zone ahead of the weekend's action with just five games left to play.

Selles said, "We were competitive enough, the game was won in one action, they had a little bit more quality into the final third. We gave up pressure too easily for their goal, and we defended out of structure. We didn't get the result, but we have not been inconsistent. The league is very competitive and the players are dealing as well as they can do it."

Selles made four changes to the side that snatched a dramatic late winner at Sheffield Wednesday in their previous encounter, with Alfie Jones, Steven Alzate, Lincoln and Matt Crooks all coming back into the side with John Egan, Kyle Joseph and Abu Kamara dropping to the bench. Gustavo Puerta was out through illness but is expected back on Monday.

Coventry seal last-gasp success

Coventry chief Frank Lampard hailed Jamie Paterson's "special" winner which kept the Sky Blues' play-off push on track. Hometown hero Paterson fired home an injury-time volley, his first goal since signing for the club in February, to secure a last-gasp 2-1 success over Portsmouth and take City back into the Championship's top six with five games remaining.

Lampard said: "We got what we deserved. It was amazing because I thought it would be one of those nights. They were dogged and made it hard for us. It was a tough game. We hit the post, they threw their bodies in front of us, but we showed great character. But we pushed and we pushed, and for 'Pato' to score that goal is something very special."

Lampard is hoping Victor Torp's injury is not as bad as it looked when the player was stretchered off in the 20th minute. The Danish midfielder was back in the starting line-up in place of Jamie Allen but his game was cut short after he appeared to twist an ankle. However, captain Ben Sheaf has recently returned to action and impressed last midweek.

Tigers difficult to trust at home

Matches between Hull and Coventry have been very competitive this century with the Tigers boasting a very narrow W7-D4-L6 supremacy in head-to-head meetings. However, in Humberside, the hosts have managed just two triumphs in their past eight encounters when hosting the Sky Blues (W2-D2-L4) with Coventry also winning the reverse clash this term.

Hull 31/20 rank mid-table since Ruben Selles' appointment (W8-D5-L10), although the majority of the Tigers' best work has been achieved away from the MKM Stadium with the Humbersiders managing just W3-D3-L5 in front of their own supporters since early December. The hosts have also managed a solitary strike in their last three outings.

Only the runaway top-three in the Championship have earned more points than Coventry 7/4 following Frank Lampard's arrival in late November (W14-D3-L7). The Sky Blues' progress has stalled a little recently with Cov going W2-D0-L3 in their last five, whilst the visitors are also posting W5-D1-L5 in their 11 away days under current management.

Sky Blues to keep top-six dreams alive

With Hull sitting rock-bottom of the home Championship table, registering just four league victories at the MKM Stadium this season - two of which arrived against bottom-three opposition - I'm happy to oppose the Tigers on Monday night. Coventry are W18-D7-L10 when excluding the top-three and well-capable of collecting a share of the spoils here.

With that in-mind, I'll back Coventry Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals at a palatable 5/6. Hull have seen Under 2.5 Goals hit in 10 of their most recent 11 dates, as well as Under 3.5 Goals in 18 of their 20 home tussles this term; Coventry have also seen the Under 3.5 Goals angle bank in 16 of their 20 away days across the Championship campaign.

This wager has paid-out in a whopping 15 (75%) of Hull's home fixtures already.

Recommended bets

Back Coventry Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals @ 5/6