Two of the Championship's in-form outfits meet at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday afternoon as Coventry City entertain Stoke City in the West Midlands.

The Sky Blues are on the coattails of the top six following an impressive run of form prior to the international break, whereas the visitors this weekend are pushing for a top-half finish in the second tier.

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Coventry were one of the teams in the Championship who quite frankly did not want the international break to arrive, with the two-week hiatus of club football temporarily halting their nine-game unbeaten run in the league.

Mark Robins's men would have been wary of the threat of a Blackpool side who had just dispatched Queens Park Rangers 6-1 a fortnight ago, but they avoided a potential slip up on the seaside by thrashing Mick McCarthy's relegation-threatened team 4-1 last time out.

Viktor Gyokeres was surprisingly unable to get onto the scoresheet at Bloomfield Road that day, although the 18-goal marksman put that disappointment behind him by netting his first-ever competitive goal for Sweden in their Euro qualifying win over Azerbaijan on Monday.

With local businessman Doug King taking over the Midlands club in January, many supporters expected the focus to be on a promotion push next campaign, yet the Sky Blues are still in the hunt to finish in the playoffs this season.

Robin's side are eighth in the Championship standings with eight matches left to play, and considering sixth-placed Millwall are only three points ahead, a Coventry trip to Wembley in late May cannot be ruled out just yet.

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Stoke are beginning to show a level of consistency after a faltering start to their second-tier campaign, with the Potters going unbeaten in the month of March, collecting eight points from a possible 12.

A 5-1 demolition of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light set the tone for Stoke's most-productive run of form so far this season, and Alex Neil's side have since earned results against promotion-hopefuls Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough and Norwich City.

The Staffordshire-based club are currently 13th in the Championship standings, and although the 12-point gap to the playoffs looks unbridgeable, 12th-placed Preston North End - lying five points ahead - are well within the Potters' reach.

Stoke have finished exclusively between 14th and 16th in this division since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, so a top-half finish would represent relative success for a historic club with much greater ambitions in the long run.

The likes of Dwight Gayle could be vital to a promotion charge next campaign - the 33-year-old has proven he can light up the Championship during spells at West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United over the past seven years.

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Coventry have been hit hard with injuries so far this season, and midfielder Jamie Allen remains out with a calf strain suffered in the draw at Preston at the start of March.

Long-term absentees for the Sky Blues include Callum O'Hare and Kasey Palmer - the attacking duo are currently sidelined with cruciate ligament and hamstring injuries respectively.

The injury to forward Fabio Tavares further limits Robins's options in forward areas, with the 22-year-old out with an Achilles tendon injury sustained in January.

Stoke have their own fitness concerns ahead of this weekend, with forward Gayle a doubt for Saturday's match after missing the draw with Norwich due to a calf injury.

Midfielder Nick Powell is also a doubt as he regains fitness following a knee injury - the playmaker has only featured for 30 minutes for the Potters since January during an injury-riddled campaign.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; McNally, McFadzean, Doyle; Norton-Cuffy, Hamer, Sheaf, Bidwell, Eccles; Godden, Gyokeres

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Sterling, Tuanzebe, Wilmot, Fox; Pearson, Laurent, Hoever, Smallbone, Campbell; Brown

We say: Coventry City 1-0 Stoke City

Coventry are still in the hunt for the playoffs so will be highly motivated to earn maximum points against a Stoke side who are unlikely to have a dramatic end to their season.

The Potters have impressed against the division's top outfits over the past month, but we see their unbeaten run coming to an end at the CBS Arena on Saturday.


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