Coventry City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Coventry Building Society Arena on Sunday afternoon with Frank Lampard’s side still searching for their first Premier League point of the season.
Coventry have lost all three of their opening league games, but their latest performance will have given Lampard plenty to work with.
The Sky Blues pushed Manchester City hard at the Etihad before eventually losing 1-0 to Erling Haaland’s goal.
Brighton have made a mixed start to the campaign. The Seagulls opened with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa before losing 4-3 at Chelsea.
They then drew 1-1 with Leeds last weekend after a much-improved second-half display.
There is a clear difference in the results so far, but Coventry have looked more competitive than their record suggests.
Brighton will need to improve their start to games if they are to avoid giving the hosts a chance of picking up their first points.
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What are the best picks for Coventry vs Brighton?
Brighton to win
Brighton are the side I would rather back here.
Coventry deserve credit for the way they competed against Manchester City. They created chances late in the game and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into several saves.
That performance should give them confidence.
However, Brighton have more attacking quality and have already shown how dangerous they can be this season.
They scored four against Aston Villa and three at Chelsea. Even against Leeds, where they struggled for much of the match, they finished strongly and created plenty of chances.
That is the part that swings this game for me.
Coventry have yet to score in the Premier League. Brighton have already shown they can create plenty of chances, even when they are not playing particularly well.
Fabian Hürzeler also knows Coventry are capable of causing problems. He praised their performance against Manchester City and will not want his side to produce another slow start like the one they had against Leeds.
I expect Coventry to have their moments, but Brighton should have enough quality to come away with three points.
Over 2.5 goals
This is a bigger price than the 1.5 line, but I think there is enough here to make it worthwhile.
Brighton’s first three Premier League games have produced 21 goals. They beat Aston Villa 4-0, lost 4-3 to Chelsea and drew 1-1 with Leeds.
Their matches have been full of chances.
The concern is Coventry’s lack of goals. They are still waiting for their first Premier League strike of the season.
However, their display against Manchester City showed they are capable of creating openings. They also have home advantage here and should be more positive against a Brighton side that is likely to give them opportunities.
Brighton have conceded seven goals in their opening three league games, too.
I can see Coventry finally getting off the mark, while Brighton have enough attacking quality to score more than once themselves.
Over 2.5 goals is therefore the goals pick I like in this game.
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Where can I watch Coventry vs Brighton?
Coventry vs Brighton kicks off at 2pm BST on Sunday, September 13 at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.
What have the managers said?
Frank Lampard
Lampard was encouraged by Coventry’s performance despite their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend.
The Coventry boss felt his side deserved something from the game after creating chances against the Premier League champions.
“Good performance from us. Disappointed to lose the game. I felt we deserved something from it”
He added that Coventry could “walk out of here with our heads held extremely high” after their display at the Etihad.
Fabian Hürzeler
Hürzeler also praised Coventry’s performance against Manchester City ahead of Brighton’s trip to the Coventry Building Society Arena.
“They played really well against Manchester City and created a lot of chances”
However, Hürzeler will want to see more intensity from his own side after admitting Brighton were below their best during the first half of their 1-1 draw with Leeds.
What is Coventry’s predicted team?
(3-4-3) Rushworth; Amenda, Thomas, Pinnock; Van Ewijk, Onyeka, Grimes, Dasilva; Rudoni, Awoniyi, Mason-Clark.
Injured: Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Luke Woolfenden, Haji Wright.
Haji Wright remains out, while Kesler-Hayden and Woolfenden are also unavailable.
Taiwo Awoniyi is expected to lead the line, with Jack Rudoni and Ephron Mason-Clark supporting him.
What is Brighton’s predicted team?
(4-2-3-1) Verbruggen; Kadıoğlu, Vušković, Dunk, Boscagli; Groß, Ayari; Gómez, Yalcouyé, De Cuyper; Kostoulas.
Injured: Mats Wieffer, Jack Hinshelwood, Evan Ferguson, Femi Azeez, Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas, Yankuba Minteh.
Doubt: Georginio Rutter.
Brighton have plenty of players missing, particularly in the wide areas.
Score prediction: Coventry 1-2 Brighton
I expect Coventry to make this competitive.
They have not scored in their first three Premier League games, but their performance at Manchester City was good enough to suggest that goal is coming sooner rather than later.
Brighton have the greater attacking threat and have already shown they can score goals away from home.
I can see Coventry finally getting on the scoresheet, but Brighton should have enough quality to take the points.
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