Leicester vs. Coventry Betting Tips: Simms a tempting price in the shots market

Leicester City will take on Coventry City at 12pm on Sunday, with the game being able to be viewed live on Sky Sports. We’ve asked our man Anthony Eadson to provide us with his best bets which you can read about below. 

Nobody could have predicted the success Leicester City would have in the last decade, with the most memorable of Premier League titles, followed by a historic FA Cup triumph a few years later. 

However, The Foxes were relegated from the top-flight in May and now seek an immediate return to the big-time. James Maddison, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans have all departed, while Harry Winks and Conor Coady have arrived at The King Power, although the latter is out injured for this game.

Coventry City suffered heartbreak in the play-off final at the end of last season as they lost out on penalties to Luton Town at Wembley. Manager Mark Robins has worked wonders at the club and there is plenty of optimism that they can at least aim for the play-off places once again this term.

The talented Callum O’Hare remains on the treatment table, while first-choice goalkeeper Ben Wilson has been out injured but could make a return to the squad. Bradley Collins has been brought in but it is uncertain whether or not he will start over Simon Moore between the sticks. They have also their new record signing Haji Wright (costing £7.7m) who may make an appearance in the match day squad.

Viktor Gyokeres was instrumental for The Sky Blues in their brilliant 2022/23 campaign which resulted in them missing out on promotion to the Premier League by the barest of margins. In total, the Swedish forward managed 21 league goals and 12 assists before his move to Portugal this summer. 

Coventry is a club who appear to be making the right decisions at the moment, with one of those being the replacement for Gyokeres, in Ellis Simms from Everton. The 22-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Sunderland where he managed seven goals before the end of the year. He then returned to Goodison and was far from disgraced in his performances as The Toffees just about kept their top-flight status for the second season running.

Simms started the season on fire for Sunderland 12 months ago, scoring three goals in his first two matches, as well as recording five shots on target. Coventry proved last year that they can compete with the best in the division and I think if they keep Gustavo Hamer, there is no reason why they cannot do that again. At even money, Simms looks too big in my eyes to record just one shot on target on Sunday lunchtime.

The first week of the season can often be a bit of a bloodbath for punters, and with team news a little harder to predict, it is often worth checking back to see who is starting in that hour before kick-off. 

There is no denying, however, that Leicester have one of the strongest squads to ever grace the Championship, with the top-three names in the top-scorer market all being occupied by Foxes forwards. They do look a little short in the winner market against Coventry at 4/7, but I think Leicester will come out on top in what could be a high-scoring affair. 

I also like the look of Ricardo Pereira to register 1+ shot on target. A player who has had several injuries and limited gametime over the last couple of years, who I think we’ll see much more of this season. In Leicester’s pre-season matches, Pereira has been marauding forward from right-back and I think we could see him play a more advanced role in the season ahead. 

As mentioned above, Leicester have acquired the services of Harry Winks. The midfielder didn’t set the world alight during his loan period at Sampdoria, and I think he is one who will pick up plenty of yellow cards in the second tier this season.

Combining Leicester to win the game, Pereira to have 1+ shot on target and Winks to be carded pays 16/1 with Paddy Power and bet365 for this M69 derby.