The Sky Bet Championship returns from the international break on Friday night with two matches taking place in a second tier which is already throwing up the usual amount of quality mixed in with unpredictability.
One of the two matches is live on the TV for us all to enjoy over the course of the night with the other game likely to be updated on regularly throughout the TV coverage so it feels a good night to sit back and watch some domestic football once again.
Hull City vs Coventry City (19.45)
The match away from the TV cameras on Friday night comes from the MKM Stadium where Hull City look to continue a good start to the season when they play host to a Coventry City side who were spot kicks away from being in the Premier League this term.
To the credit of the Sky Blues, there doesn’t appear to be too much of a hangover from that defeat at Wembley Stadium in May, and given that their standout two players both left in the summer there could easily have been. They have only lost one of their opening five matches but the problem is they have only won one as well and draws look to continue to be an issue for them. Hull lost their opening match of the season but since then they have picked up 10 points from a possible 12 and went into the international break in fine form. Their improvement under Liam Rosenior has been very good and I’m not convinced their sixth placed standing is a false position. That said, I do think Coventry are hard to beat and so I would rather leave this one alone instead of getting too involved in it.
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Southampton vs Leicester City (20.00 – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
The TV cameras make their way to St Mary’s Stadium on Friday night for the clash between two sides who are looking for an immediate return to the Premier League when Southampton host Leicester City.
Both these teams made really good starts to their season after relegation last term but they both slipped up and went into the international break with a defeat on their record. The loss that Southampton suffered at Sunderland was heavy and emphatic and while no 5-0 defeat is good, the concern was how it came not long after the exits of Romeo Lavia, James Ward-Prowse and a few other players. That sort of thing immediately opens up some questions and some doubts so the Saints will be looking for a much more convincing display on home soil here. Leicester City tripped up at home to Hull City last time out and while that is no hugely bad loss, the Foxes probably haven’t looked quite as convincing as their results prior to that loss. They now know what they are working with in terms of personnel though and have had a couple of weeks to take stock and formulate their plans to move forward and I would expect to see something of a better showing from them here. I’m not in the game of predicting who will bounce back from defeats after two weeks off but I am happy to guess that we are going to see goals in this match. Southampton still look a shambles defensively but they have shown some quality going forward. There is no shortage in attacking numbers in this Leicester side and while they have been better at the back so far this term, they have played at least three teams who you would expect to be in the bottom eight at the end of the campaign. I’m comfortable backing over 2.75 goals in this one.
Tips
Back Southampton vs Leicester City – Over 2.75 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Bet365
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