Preview: Coventry City vs. Middlesbrough - prediction, team news, lineups

Coventry City head into their meeting with Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon looking to move into the top six of the Championship standings.

Having failed to win any of their last three fixtures, Middlesbrough make the trip to the Ricoh Arena sitting in 13th position in the table.

Match preview

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Despite suffering a 2-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers before the international break, Coventry boss Mark Robins will be delighted with the form of his squad.

The majority of the Sky Blues supporters will be content with a season of consolidation in their first year back at the Ricoh Arena.

Nevertheless, with nine points already to their name ahead of successive home matches, Robins will see no reason why Coventry cannot before a permanent fixture in the top six.

Goals are proving to be an issue with only Viktor Gyokeres netting more than once in the Championship, but the positives will be taken from three wins by one-goal margins.

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Coventry have found a way to turn possible draws into maximum points, something which has been lost on Middlesbrough over the same period.

Neil Warnock's side have twice failed to win from favourable positions since August 18, the other game with Derby County ending in a goalless draw.

Warnock has attempted to rectify matters by shaking up his squad during the closing days of the transfer window, the most notable addition being that of Slovenia international Andraz Sporar.

A couple of years have passed by without Sporar scoring on a regular basis, but the arrival of Onel Hernandez may help improve his return in front of goal.

Despite Warnock showing minimal flexibility with his team selections thus far, he will be keen to get both of his new attackers into the side as soon as possible.

Team News

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Having failed to make an impact against QPR, one of Gyokeres or Martyn Waghorn could drop out of the Coventry starting lineup.

Tyler Walker appears most likely to earn a recall, while Todd Kane will come into consideration after joining on loan from QPR.

Warnock could hand an immediate debut to Sporar, who only featured for the final 25 minutes of Slovenia's fixture in Croatia on Tuesday night.

Martin Payero may come into the midfield to replace Sam Morsy, who has left the club, but Matt Crooks could potentially drop back into a more restricted role in the centre of the pitch.

Despite promising Hernandez plenty of game time during his spell at the Riverside Stadium, the Cuban may be named on the substitutes' bench.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Moore; Hyam, McFadzean, Clarke-Salter; Dabo, Hamer, Sheaf, Maatsen; O'Hare, Walker; Gyokeres

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Lumley; McNair, Hall, Fry; Dijksteel, Payero, Howson, Tavernier, Jones; Watmore, Sporar

We say: Coventry City 2-1 Middlesbrough

With the pressure off after their strong start to the season, we expect Coventry to go all out for victory at the weekend. While Boro should put up some resistance, we still fancy the Sky Blues to edge this contest by the odd goal in three.