Triple Coventry City blow is boost for Middlesbrough's title chances | OneFootball

Frank Lampard will be missing some of his key men for upcoming fixtures in the title race

Coventry City and Middlesbrough are continuing to steal a march on promotion to the Premier League, with both sides emerging victorious once again after an eventful weekend in the promotion race.

Having seen Millwall leapfrog Ipswich Town into third after their dramatic victory against Hull City on Saturday lunchtime, the Sky Blues made it five Championship victories in succession with a 2-0 scoreline over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

For just over 24 hours, Frank Lampard's side had established an eight-point buffer over their nearest challengers, who would respond with a second statement victory away from the Riverside Stadium in the space of six days.

Indeed, after going three matches without a win, Kim Hellberg's rampant Boro side put Queens Park Rangers to the sword 4-0 in West London on Sunday afternoon to remain five points behind Coventry as both clubs have 10 matches to play in the regular season.

Whilst the main priority for the Swede would have been to maintain some form of distance between themselves and the chasing pack, the Teesside outfit certainly cannot be ruled out when it comes to the title race at this moment in time, especially after how many times the pendulum has swung in recent weeks between themselves and City.

Although both sides started a crucial three-game week with impressive away victories that will have continued to keep confidence levels oozing through the respective ranks, it may be Middlesbrough who are feeling slightly better about themselves on the whole heading into their home clash with Charlton Athletic on Wednesday night.

Such feats come after it was revealed by Lampard that he will be missing the services of two men who have helped form the spine of his Sky Blues outfit for over a year now, as well as being unable to call upon Joel Latibeaudiere for the next three matches - a run which begins against Preston North End at the CBS Arena.

Jack Rudoni and Bobby Thomas also set for three-game Coventry City absence amid Frank Lampard bombshell

Goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Haji Wright ensured that Lampard's side left the West Country with another maximum point haul as they close in on a first Premier League term in 25 years, but there would have been understandable concerns from supporters when team news broke 75 minutes beforehand.

Missing among the travelling party were both Bobby Thomas and Jack Rudoni - two cornerstones of the current Coventry side, who continue to be influential for differing reasons.

Question marks have been raised about City's recent defensive record, but both Thomas and Liam Kitching have provided season-defining defensive contributions over time, with the latter also stepping in on Saturday following Latibeaudiere's dismissal after 43 minutes.

Thomas has been a mainstay at the heart of defence for the Sky Blues, and Lampard has revealed that he is set to miss the upcoming matches against Preston, Southampton and Swansea City ahead of the campaign's final international break with a calf issue that was sustained against Stoke City on February 28th.

The exact same, unwanted fate, has also occurred to Rudoni, who has still reached double-figures when it comes to goal contributions despite a stop-start campaign as a result of a similar injury in the autumn.

“We don’t have Bobby for probably the next three games, potentially, so we’re getting a bit thin there but the boys coming in have done well,” said Lampard.

“Rudi has done the same as Bobby and it’s the same timescale."

Having scored three crucial strikes against West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United and Stoke prior to his absence, it will continue to be down to Josh Eccles to provide in his absence ahead of the final seven matches of the season.

Middlesbrough will hope to capitalise on major Coventry City triple blow in title run-in

Whilst the aforementioned circumstances has given Lampard an untimely problem to solve, Boro are concern-free based on their past two outings, with seven goals coming in from all areas of the pitch.

Tommy Conway has continued to silence any previous critics with another impressive performance which was rounded off by his penalty, whilst David Strelec has also returned to form with goals in back-to-back games.

Then, of course, comes the influence of Hayden Hackney, Aidan Morris and Riley McGree in midfield, with the trio continuing to create chances at will, whilst Luke Ayling and Matt Targett's experience has also shone through within the past week.

Although there will be some nerves about their side facing another side in the bottom half after recent home stalemates to Oxford United and Leicester City