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Leicester City vs Coventry City tips: Title favourites to face rude awakening on Championship return

Mark Robins

Relegated side Leicester City will begin life in the Championship with a tricky test against promotion contenders Coventry City on Sunday.

Leicester City and Coventry City will meet live on Sky Sports this weekend and we suspect the visitors are well-equipped to cause an upset. 

Date, KO time and TV coverage

EFL Championship, Sunday August 6, Kick-off 12pm, live on Sky Sports Football

Predicted score

Leicester City 1-2 Coventry City

Championship betting tips

Bet: Coventry City to win

Bet: Both teams to score

Bet: Over 2.5 goals

Leicester City vs Coventry City betting preview

Leicester City will kick off their campaign by hosting their nearest Football League neighbours, Coventry City, as the Sky Blues make the short hop up the M69 on Sunday.
The Foxes are still in transition under Enzo Maresca with 11 departures to date and several arrivals in key positions, most notably Harry Winks in midfield.
Coventry City are set in their stylistic ways under Mark Robins but they are having to deal with a churn of playing staff this summer, losing key man Viktor Gyokeres and Callum Doyle.
In addition, it remains to be seen if Gustavo Hamer will still be here in September, but that's looking increasingly unlikely with the club already trying to swat away bids.

Sunday will be our first look at the bookmaker's favourite for the title but they'll have to be flexible and line up with a more traditional back four as Conor Coady misses out through injury.

Harry Souttar and Callum Doyle should start in defence with Wilfred Ndidi protecting them and Harry Winks conducting the orchestra on the ball.

It remains to be seen if Ndidi will stay beyond August but despite a slump in form during recent seasons, City have a ball winner that's a level above the Championship.

The Sky Blues have questions to answer on Sunday as we get a first glimpse of how they'll look without Viktor Gyokeres, who scored 21 goals and provided 12 assists.

In their defence, Coventry had a good season because of the work Robins has put in, the squad he's built and the effectiveness of their box midfield. That said, 23 goal involvements are hard to replace.
There will be question marks until we see the influence of Ellis Simms, who scored seven in 17 on loan a Sunderland, and US international Hadji Wright in action.
It's fair to say that both teams are a work in progress and aren't likely to hit their full stride until September at the earliest, but the hosts have the more complete front line.

There are no two ways about it, Patson Daka has to score 20+ goals at this level of football, while the drop-down in level could revitalise Kelechi Iheanacho. Jamie Vardy will miss out due to injury.

In terms of how this game will look, the hosts are set to dominate possession. You'll recognise plenty of Pep-like patterns with overloads, narrow wingers and Ricardo Pereira popping up in midfield.

That's unlikely to phase the visitors. After shipping nine goals in their first four matches, Mark Robins's men held their opponents to 12 goals in 20 matches and avoided defeat in 16 of those.
They could have to make do without the influential Callum O'Hare and goalkeeper Ben Wilson, while Hamer, Ben Sheaf and Josh Eccles will need to get through a lot of work in the middle.
The arrival of talented full-backs Jay Dasilva and Milan van Ewijk improve Coventry on and off the ball and look like an outlet that could hurt the Foxes if they turn over possession in midfield.
Early season games are always tough to predict but the biggest question mark is always how a relegated club reacts and it may take time for their new style to click.
Leicester will dominate possession but there's a lot to like about the visitors. They'll have an attacking threat and they're so well-drilled, so it wouldn't be a shock to see them pick up points.

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