Coventry City and Luton Town meet in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with a place in the Premier League up for grabs.
Third-placed Luton finished 10 points clear of fifth-placed Coventry in the Championship table, but both sides are now just one win away from securing top-flight football.
WE’RE ON OUR WAY! 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/7RIo4az31p— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) May 17, 2023
WE’RE ON OUR WAY! 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/7RIo4az31p
Can Coventry return to the Premier League for the first time since 2000-01? Or will Luton make it back to the top tier of English football for the first time since 1991-92?
Coventry booked their place in the Championship play-off final with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Middlesbrough, courtesy of an away goal from Gustavo Hamer.
As a result, the Sky Blues head into Saturday’s showpiece on a nine-game unbeaten streak, having recorded four wins and five draws since their last loss.
When you look at the bigger picture, Coventry have suffered a solitary defeat in their previous 19 outings, collecting nine wins and nine draws along the way.
Given that each of Coventry’s last four games have produced under 2.5 goals, we are likely to see a low-scoring encounter this weekend.
As for Luton, they claimed a 3-2 aggregate win over Sunderland to reach the final, coming from 2-1 down in the first leg to win the second leg 2-0.
The Hatters avoided defeat in each of their final 14 regular-season matches, securing eight wins and six draws to cement their place in the top six.
Consequently, Rob Edwards’ men have lost only one of their last 16 games, with two defeats coming in their previous 22 encounters in the league.
Given that only champions Burnley conceded fewer goals than Luton during the regular season, the Hatters will back themselves to limit Coventry’s chances at Wembley.
Head-to-head: Coventry and Luton have already played out a couple of draws this term, drawing 2-2 at Luton before producing a 1-1 stalemate at Coventry back in February.
That means the Sky Blues have failed to win any of their previous nine meetings with the Hatters in all competitions, with five draws coming in that time.
Team news: Coventry City will be without injured trio Callum O’Hare (ACL), Fabio Tavares (Achilles) and Kasey Palmer (hamstring) for Saturday’s showpiece.
By contrast, Luton Town have reported no injury problems ahead of the final, meaning Rob Edwards has a full-strength squad at his disposal.
When you consider what’s at stake for these two sides, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coventry and Luton served up a tense and cagey affair at Wembley.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Coventry and Luton will play out a low-scoring draw inside 90 minutes, with extra-time and/or penalties required to determine the winner.