Coventry v Bournemouth Tips: Cherries to stretch unbeaten run in the West Midlands
It's gameweek four in the Championship this weekend, and to kick off the action Bournemouth travel to Coventry's makeshift home of St. Andrew's on Friday night.
The visitors enter the match as 11/10 favourites for the win and could stretch their unbeaten run to four games should they avoid defeat here. Wins against Blackburn and Norwich have partnered a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough so far for the south coast outfit - results which see them sit fourth in the second-tier at this early stage.
12th-placed Coventry are being given a 29% chance of victory with their odds of 5/2, and could really do with getting another win under their belt following their goalless stalemate against Barnsley last weekend.
Sky Blues midfielder Liam Kelly is an injury doubt (hamstring) for this one, but other than that Mark Robins has a full strength squad to choose from. David Brooks could be in contention for a start for Bournemouth after testing negative for coronavirus, while Joshua King's involvement remains a doubt amid speculation linking him with a move away from the club.
I've picked out three football tips for the game which kicks off at 7:45pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports. As always, please remember to gamble responsibly.
For my first bet I'm backing an away win. While Coventry have started this season fairly promisingly, taking four points from nine having drawn with Barnsley and beaten QPR, I think Bournemouth will just be a little too strong for them here.
The Cherries are a side in form at the moment and have not yet lost in the league in 2020-21. They come into this match on the back of an impressive 1-0 win over Norwich last weekend so will be brimming with confidence.
Jason Tindall's side also put in a great performance against Manchester City in the League Cup last week, narrowly losing 2-1 to the Premier League heavy hitters at the Etihad. They have looked sharp so far, and with the personnel they have available I am confident in their ability to stretch their unbeaten run in the Championship at St. Andrew's.
My second bet for this game is an all-Bournemouth affair, with Dominic Solanke to score anytime and Jefferson Lerma to be booked.
Solanke will most likely line-up up front for the visitors here, with Joshua King being heavily linked with a move to Tottenham. The ex-Liverpool and Chelsea striker has already scored once this term and should be presented with plenty of opportunities in the final third here, with so much creative talent supporting him in Bournemouth's midfield.
Alongside this I'm backing last season's second-highest booking offender Jefferson Lerma to pick up a booking. We all know that the Cherries midfielder loves a robust challenge and over the last two season's he has amassed an astonishing 23 yellow cards, whilst already seeing yellow this time out.
In the thick of the action here, I can see the South American finding his way into the referee's notepad. This bet is priced at just 5/1 with bet365, so the value really does lie with Betfair at 7/1.
My final bet for this Friday's encounter is a 25/1 longshot courtesy of Paddy Power.
I'm kicking it off with a player from each side to register two or more shots on target and Coventry midfielder Gustavo Hamer to pick up his third yellow of the campaign.
Bournemouth's attacking midfielder Arnaut Danjuma has really hit the ground running this term, scoring twice in his opening three league games, with his goal against Norwich last weekend proving the match winner at the Vitality. Full of confidence heading into this one, I expect the Dutch midfielder to pepper Coventry's goal with shots from distance and can see him causing the hosts some problems.
I'm also backing Coventry's Matt Godden to register two or more shots on target. The 29-year-old has found the net twice this season already and is by far and away the Sky Blues' biggest attacking threat. If anyone is getting on the scoresheet for the West Midlands side here, it should be Godden and I expect him to at least register two chances on target.
Rounding this 25/1 punt off I'm including Cov's Gustavo Hamer to pick up a yellow. The Brazilian midfielder has already been booked twice this season and ended last term with eight bookings to his name in the Dutch Eredivisie before signing for the Sky Blues this summer. I like the look of Hamer for a bookings bet here, and the 23-year-old goes into my longshot to round off a trio of bets for this Friday's clash.
