It's the final weekend of action in the Championship before Christmas and we've got 10 of the 12 games taking place on Saturday afternoon. Sunderland, who now have Michael Beale in charge, host Coventry, in a game that looks a really fascinating clash on paper, Coventry are finally on the up and Sunderland are under new management.
Sunderland Form GuideMichael Beale will come into Sunderland with plenty of weight on his shoulders. It didn't work out at Rangers for him, but he was excellent at QPR. His strength is coaching, and with a full recruitment team looking after incoming players, that leaves Beale to focus on what he does best, it's a situation that I like a lot.
Sunderland head into the weekend in 7th position, on the edge of the playoffs and just three points back. They were beaten last weekend, losing 1-0 away at Bristol City. They did win the week before, beating 3rd placed Leeds 1-0 at home, this is a good team, and it is going to be fascinating to see how they look under Beale.
Coventry Form GuideThe real Coventry City are finally on show. It's taken a while, but we are seeing what they're made of, and that has resulted in them slowly moving up the table. Heading into the weekend they are in 15th position, six off Sunderland and nine off the playoffs. It's still possible for them to get involved, and I wouldn't bet against them.
They do come here on the back of two draws, but they came away at Leeds last weekend, who are currently 3rd and at home to Southampton before that, who are 4th. In their game before that, they won 2-0 at home to Birmingham, I saw that game in full, and think that's the best I've seen from Coventry since last season.
Match PredictionI think this is going to be a great game to watch. I've got high hopes for Sunderland under Michael Beale, but it may take them a few games to hit top stride under him. With that in mind, I am going to side with Coventry to avoid defeat in this one, I think they can keep their strong form going.
