Coventry v QPR Tips: Hoops to make it two in two at St. Andrew's
Championship newbies Coventry welcome QPR to their makeshift home at St. Andrew’s in this Friday’s dose of Championship action.
The Sky Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat against Bristol City in their first game back in the second tier since 2011/12 last weekend, while QPR ran out as 2-0 winners over Nottingham Forest in their curtain-raiser at Loftus Road.
Despite last weekend’s result, the bookies have Coventry as the favourites in the outright betting, priced at 29/20. QPR are being given a 32% chance of victory with their odds of 21/10, while the full-time draw is priced at 12/5.
In terms of team news QPR have no injuries or suspensions to contend with, but Coventry boss Mark Robins has a decision regarding whether or not he starts Declan Drysdale, after the defender was sent off in the EFL Cup win over MK Dons a fortnight ago.
Below, you’ll find my three football tips for the game which kicks off at 7:45pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports.
My first bet for this clash is simply QPR to win. The Hoops may have bid farewell to a number of their key players during the summer - most notably Eberechi Eze to Crystal Palace - but they showed little signs of missing him last weekend with a fabulous performance against Nottingham Forest.
Goals from Ilias Chair and Lyndon Dykes sealed a 2-0 victory for Mark Warbuton’s side on home soil, which will see the west London outfit head into this game with plenty of momentum behind them.
Coventry, meanwhile, lost their season opener to Bristol City, and while there were positives for manager Mark Robins to take from his club’s first game back in the Championship after eight seasons out of it, there is no doubt that their confidence will be slightly dented following the result.
I like the 21/10 on offer for an away win here given last weekend’s performance, and you are getting good value backing it with Betfair as this same bet is priced at 15/8 with SkyBet.
My second bet for the game is R’s attacker Ilias Chair to score anytime, boosted to 7/2 from 3/1 by Paddy Power.
Chair impressed massively against Forest, scooping the MOTM award thanks to scoring QPR’s second and registering two key passes in 90 minutes - more than any other Hoops player (aside from Luke Amos, who also registered two).
Big things are expected of the 22-year-old this season as QPR need a player to fill Ebereche Eze’s huge shoes, and early indications suggest that he might well be up to the task. Of course, one good performance does not guarantee continued success all season but the Belgian will surely be brimming with confidence heading into this Friday’s fixture.
I’m getting behind him to net another here, and think that the price on offer from Paddy’s could prove to be value come full-time.
My third and final bet for this game is more of a longshot, priced at a whopping 90/1 with Paddy Power.
As we are only a week into the new season it is difficult to gage which players are best to back for a booking, so I’ve delved into last season’s archives and assessed the bookings stats from each team.
My findings suggest that Geoff Cameron could be a decent bet, as the US international ended 2019/20 with the most yellow cards for Rangers with 11. A tough tackling central midfielder who has spent a lot of his career in defence, Cameron will be right in the thick of the action at St. Andrew’s which should lead to plenty of challenges and potential card opportunities.
He avoided a caution against Forest but the stats don’t lie, and if last season’s numbers are anything to go by we should see him pick up plenty more bookings this time out, hopefully starting here against Coventry.
The same can be said for Coventry centre-back Kyle McFadzean, who ended last term with the second-most yellow cards in the Sky Blues squad (7). Like Cameron, the 33-year-old has avoided a booking so far this season but that could quite easily change up against the physicality of R’s front man Lyndon Dykes, who is expected to be a real thorn in Coventry’s side here.
Staying with Dykes, the QPR new signing impressed on his Championship debut against Forest, netting from the penalty spot so will enter this match flying with confidence and hopeful of adding to his tally. He goes into my three-pronged-punt for this clash, boosting the odds massively to a huge 90/1.
Good luck to anyone following these bets, and please always remember to gamble responsibly.
