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Championship betting tips: Coventry v Nottingham Forest best bets and preview
The Sky Blues have been sent (back) to Coventry and they'll be getting anything but the silent treatment - Michael Beardmore previews their Sky Bet Championship opener against Nottingham Forest.
Football betting tips: Championship
1pt Coventry to win and Under 3.5 Goals at 23/10 (Betfair)
1pt Callum O'Hare to assist 1+ goals at 10/3 (Sky Bet)
It's been two years and three and a half months since Coventry City played in their own backyard - and a lot has changed in the world since that 1-1 League One draw with Shrewsbury Town on April 28, 2019.
Sticking just with football, Coventry's temporary St Andrew's home in Birmingham - after another lengthy fall-out with the Ricoh Arena landlords - proved a lucky one, their two seasons there yielding a promotion and Championship consolidation.
Those final two words - Championship consolidation - must strike ice into the hearts of Sunday's visitors Nottingham Forest, set to embark on a 13th successive season in the second tier and a 22nd consecutive campaign outside England's top flight.
Kick-off time: 16:30 BST, Sunday
TV channel: Sky Sports Football
Coventry 6/4 | Draw 21/10 | Nottingham Forest 2/1
These two Midlands rivals have each enjoyed better times but there is no doubt that over the past couple of seasons, Coventry are the club on the up, with two-time European champions Forest very much stuck in a rut.
Both have unspectacular bosses at the helm in the shape of Mark Robins and Chris Hughton respectively, but while the Sky Blues have been busy in the transfer market this summer, Forest have remained strangely quiet.
Can Coventry return home with a win?
Yes, is the short answer. Robins' men will surely be rewarded with a rapturous welcome from the Sky Blues faithful given their nomadic exploits and achievements the past two seasons.
They will face a tough test to break down a Forest defence that conceded the fifth fewest goals in the Championship last term, despite finishing 17th, a place below Sunday's hosts.
Hughton has them well drilled but that has come at the expense of any sort of firepower up front - their paltry tally of 37 goals last term was the division's joint second lowest, but they did underperform based on expected goals (xG) by around 15 according to Infogol.
Coventry also struggled for goals at times but hit 17 in their final eight games and have bolstered their attacking ranks with the additions of Martyn Waghorn and Bright Enobhakare as well as turning Viktor Gyokeres' loan spell into a permanent move.
That's on top of Matty Godden and former Forest man Tyler Walker, who Robins already had at his disposal - comparative riches to Forest who have barely recruited at all and are reliant on Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor improving on poor seasons.
Everything points to a home win and while you can get the Sky Blues at 6/4, we can boost the price even further by selecting COVENTRY TO WIN AND UNDER 3.5 GOALS, priced at 23/10 with Betfair.
Forest are rarely rolled over but enter the new season with little momentum after two wins in their final 14 matches last term and a quiet summer, so backing Coventry to edge them out by a goal or two in a low-scoring affair is the smart play here.
Is Callum O'Hare the Sky Blue Jack Grealish?
Floppy hair, came through the Aston Villa academy, grew up in Solihull, the ball sticks at his feet - sound familiar?
He might not be worth £100m like his former youth team buddy Jack Grealish but Coventry's Callum O'Hare - signed from their West Midlands neighbours on a permanent deal last summer after impressing on loan - is very much the real deal.
The 23-year-old was Coventry's creative spark last season, registering eight assists - comfortably the most among the Sky Blues' squad - and netting three goals. I watched Coventry several times and he stood out head and shoulders.
O'Hare should have scored more - his expected goals tally at 8.45 - and a more clinical finishing edge will surely materialise the more he matures.
But, we are to backing him to continue where he left off last season in terms of assists in this game.
O'Hare is Coventry's key creators, and given that they have added more attacking talent around him in the summer, we could potentially see his assist output jump into double figures this term - starting on Sunday.
CALLUM O'HARE TO ASSIST 1+ GOAL can be backed at 10/3 with Sky Bet.
At the time of writing, no other bookmaker has this bet priced up, and it is worth noting that Sky Bet's rules/criteria for assists is slightly different to other books, as they pay out should a player be fouled for a penalty or free-kick that is then scored by another player, or if a player's shot is saved/blocked and the rebound is scored by another player.
They also pay out as an assist if a player shoots/passes the ball and forces an opponent to score an own goal. It is important to know what you are betting on, and all of the above increases O'Hare's chances of an assist in my book.
Coventry v Nottingham Forest best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Coventry to win and Under 3.5 Goals at 23/10 (Betfair)
- 1pt Callum O'Hare to assist 1+ goals at 10/3 (Sky Bet)
Score prediction: Coventry 2-0 Nottingham Forest (Sky Bet odds: 10/1)
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