Southampton – Coventry City

The leader of the championship race will not lose in Southampton

According to bookmakers' odds before the season started, the Southampton–Coventry City match could have been central not only to a single round but to the entire first half of the season. The Saints were priced even higher than Lampard's charges who had performed well last season. Of course, analysts expected that Southampton's Premier League heritage would not be squandered so quickly. And long before the end of last season it was obvious to the Saints that this season they would be playing in the Championship, so the club management could be reorganized in advance. As well as preparing tactical formations for the new realities. However, the Saints did not manage to deliver, and the blame was placed on the already fired Will Still. For the last two weeks, the Southampton head coach has been the 32-year-old specialist Tonda Ekert, who briefly led the team's youth team. The German had not played football at a professional level, and now he must solve the task of returning Southampton to the elite of English football. Coventry City, after Frank Lampard's appointment to the managerial position last season, has undergone a significant transformation, and in the current championship has reached a new level. At St Mary's the team will come as the league leaders with the task of collecting three points. Bookmakers have made the home side favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.34 on their victory. Southampton, after a long winless streak in October, performed fairly well in the following months. The past month and a half brought the Saints six wins and two defeats. Both defeats came away from home, which reassures those fans who will come to St Mary's on Saturday hoping for their players to beat the league leader. At some point Coventry City's dominance in the Championship led to a ten-point gap from second place. However, such an advantage over the pursuers played a cruel joke on the Sky Blues. In the first two December rounds Coventry City finally won. This victory is more important than three points because another stumble could tilt the season's course in the wrong direction. Let's place a bet that the visitors will not lose in Southampton.