Preview: Coventry City vs Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

In search of a victory that could seal their promotion back to the Premier League, Coventry City will welcome Sheffield Wednesday to the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday.

The hosts sit atop the Championship table and need a maximum of six points to secure a top-two finish, meaning a victory could be enough if results elsewhere go their way, while the visitors are confined to relegation and a 24th-placed finish.

Match preview

Coventry City head into the weekend with a return to the Premier League in their sights, having moved within touching distance of climbing back to England's top flight after 25 years away.

That is thanks to a stellar first full season under the management of Frank Lampard, who took charge and led them to the playoffs last term, as they have topped the table throughout, accumulating 84 points from their 41 games thus far.

The Sky Blues have excelled in all departments, scoring a league-high tally of 84 goals in those matches, while only two sides have conceded fewer than they have allowed and no teams have suffered fewer than their seven defeats.

The most recent of those losses came at home to Southampton in mid-March, ending six-game winning streak, but Lampard's men have not been knocked off the pace since, bouncing back with consecutive victories over Swansea City and Derby County before visiting Hull City on Monday and sharing the points in a goalless stalemate.

Now leading third and fourth spots by 12 points with five games left to play, Coventry City find themselves needing six points at most to guarantee their promotion, or a victory combined with losses for Hull and Millwall and will bid to take a major step at least on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, head to the Midlands for a tough test on the back of a confidence-boosting draw last time out in a testing season.

The 2025-26 term has been one to forget for Sheffield Wednesday, who saw their fate all but sealed when they entered administration in October and received deductions totalling 18 points in a campaign in which they were already fighting an uphill battle with a thin squad.

The Owls have been unable to overcome that disadvantage, seeing their relegation confirmed in February and still sitting on -5 points, having scored a league-low tally of 25 goals and conceded a league-high 82, with their only league victory of the campaign coming back in September.

After losing 17 of their previous 18 games dating back to the turn of the year, Henrik Pedersen's side hosted Leicester City on Monday and looked set to end their long wait for a second win of the campaign having led 1-0 from the second minute through Jerry Yates, only to have to settle for a draw as Jordan Ayew levelled for their visitors six minutes from time.

Now facing five more games before dropping to League One, and with optimism continuing to grow as a change in ownership and exit from administration nears, they will hope to pull off a memorable result against the league leaders on Saturday to lift spirits and get closer to positive points.

Coventry City Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Team News

Coventry City are set to remain without attacker Brandon Thomas-Asante, who has missed the last two games in the treatment room alongside Miguel Brau.

Jack Rudoni is back in contention after his own layoff, though, scoring twice off the bench in their win over Derby County to kick off the Easter weekend to move onto seven goals and five assists for the season in the Championship, and he may come in for a first start since February.

Ellis Simms will also hope to feature from the outset up top, but Lampard may stick with Haji Wright, who sits second in the Championship scoring charts on 16 goals for the season.

Sheffield Wednesday remain without Murphy Cooper, Liam Cooper, Di'Shon Bernard, Ernie Weaver, Ike Ugbo and George Brown on Saturday.

They may be unchanged from Monday's draw against Leicester, with Yates continuing up front having managed four goals since his January loan arrival.

He could again be joined by Jamal Lowe, while Nathaniel Chalobah should continue in midfield having recently returned to contention after a long-term injury layoff.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Kitching, Dasilva; Onyeka, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Charles; Iorfa, Otegbayo, M Lowe; Palmer, Chalobah, Heskey, Adaramola; Ingelsson; Yates, J Lowe

We say: Coventry City 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday

While Sheffield Wednesday showed their grit on Saturday, we cannot envisage the Owls challenging their free-scoring and dominant hosts on Saturday and back Coventry City to strengthen their promotion claim with a comfortable victory.

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