Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Peterborough United and Coventry City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Championship strugglers Peterborough United host out-of-form Coventry City at London Road on Saturday afternoon.

The Posh are currently 22nd in the table and three points adrift of safety, while the Sky Blues have fallen away from the playoffs and are now 10th.

Match preview

Peterborough United players celebrate after beating Hull City on October 20, 2021 © Reuters

Due to fixtures being postponed, Peterborough have not played in the Championship since December 18 but are on a run of one win in nine league games.

Darren Ferguson's side were given some respite from their relegation battle last weekend as they won 2-1 against League Two outfit Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup.

Sixteen of Posh's 19 points in the Championship this season (84%) have been won on home turf, the highest ratio in the division.

The Cambridgeshire side have the worst defence in the second tier in 2021-22, keeping just two clean sheets and conceding 44 goals; at the other end, only Barnsley have scored on fewer occasions.

Coventry City's Gustavo Hamer celebrates scoring their first goal against Peterborough in the Championship on September 24, 2021 © Reuters

Coventry's 3-0 win over Peterborough in September took the Sky Blues up to second in the Championship table and they maintained a place in the top six until the start of December.

Now Mark Robins's side are on a six-match winless run in the league and are six points behind the playoffs with at least one game in hand over all the sides above them.

After travelling to London Road, Coventry's following three fixtures are all against other sides fighting for a spot in the playoffs – Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City and Middlesbrough.

Like Peterborough, the Midlands outfit were victorious in the FA Cup last weekend as they beat Derby County 1-0 through Dominic Hyam's goal just before half-time.

Only Posh and Barnsley have picked up fewer points away from home in the Championship this season than the Sky Blues, who have won just once on the road since August; their last three away matches have ended in draws.

Peterborough United Championship form:

Peterborough United form (all competitions):

Coventry City Championship form:

Coventry City form (all competitions):

Team News

Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson pictured in November 2020 © Reuters

Peterborough signed goalkeeper Steven Benda on loan from Swansea City this week, so Darren Ferguson must decide whether to start the German straight away or let David Cornell keep his spot between the sticks.

Fellow loan arrival Callum Morton will not be involved as he is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Joel Randall and Jack Marriott are also sidelined.

Teenage striker Ricky-Jade Jones could feature in the Championship for the first time after recovering from two separate injuries that have kept him out since August.

Coventry hope to have Kyle McFadzean and Liam Kelly back available after the pair missed the cup win over Derby as they were self-isolating as close contacts of someone who tested positive for Covid-19.

There is less likely to be a return for full-back Ian Maatsen, who has a hamstring problem and is a significant doubt for the trip to London Road.

Gustavo Hamer has been nursing an injury and Mark Robins may start the midfielder on the bench as a precaution.

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Cornell; Thompson, Knight, Edwards, Mumba; Burrows, Taylor, Norburn, Grant; Dembele, Szmodics

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Hyam, McFadzean, Rose; Kane, Kelly, Sheaf, Dabo; O'Hare; Gyokeres, Godden

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We say: Peterborough United 2-2 Coventry City

With both teams in poor league form but buoyed by cup wins last weekend, they will each feel confident of a result here. Coventry will be favourites, but the Sky Blues' away form is cause for concern so we are predicting an entertaining draw.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Peterborough United win with a probability of 40.55%. A win for Coventry City had a probability of 32.39% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Peterborough United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.48%) and 2-0 (7.37%). The likeliest Coventry City win was 0-1 (9.71%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.83%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 0.8% likelihood.