Sunderland can survive a nervy home game with Frank Lampard’s Coventry to reach Championship play-off final

It’s difficult to work out whether the Black Cats will have to burn one of their nine lives when Sunderland entertain Coventry in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final as both teams have been in such shocking condition.

The hosts won the first leg in the midlands 2-1 on Friday but before that they had finished the season by scoring just once in five straight defeats as their automatic promotion dreams ran out of steam at an alarming rate.

Meanwhile, Coventry appeared to be the side heading into the post-season with all the momentum after an impressive run of five wins in six games only to falter as they triumphed just twice in the next seven games before limping over the line with a 2-0 victory against equally mediocre Middlesbrough on the final day.

Scoring goals has not been a problem for City, however, as they have failed to find the net just ten times in 52 league and cup matches this season and that will give manager Frank Lampard hope they can turn this tie around.

Sunderland have won just three of their last 11 at the Stadium of Light, losingtheir last three home games 1-0, and if that form is not reversed with immediate effect it is going to be a long summer with north-east neighbours and arch-rivals Newcastle bragging about ending their long trophy drought following their Carabao Cup triumph and probably looking forward to European jollies in the Champions League.

Under 2.5 goals looks a good wager at 4/5 with bet365, Betfair, Betfred and plenty of others while the draw is 5/2 with the latter firm with a 1-1 draw 11/2 with the aforementioned bookmakers, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, StarSports and plenty of others.

Wilson Isidor is 43/20 with Unibet and BetMGM to get the Black Cats purring by finding the net, while Jack Rudoni is 9/2 with Paddy Power and Betfair to follow up his goal in the first leg with another successful effort.

The hosts have a habit of conceding late goals, so Sunderland half-time/draw full-time is worth a punt at 14/1 with William Hill, Betfred and plenty of others.

• World No.5 Jack Draper is already enjoying a year to remember after winning at Indian Wells and reaching the final of the Madrid Open and the British No.1 can continue to show his clay-court prowess by beating France’s Corentin Moutet at the Italian Open by more than 5.5 games at evens across the board.

• It was fitting that on the day the British & Irish Lions named their squad for this summer’s tour of Australia, uncompromising former Gloucester prop Mike Burton, who was part of Willie John McBride’s invincible team which toured South Africa in 1974, was enjoying success in his current career as a greyhound trainer.

His July 2023 puppy Droopys Aladdin was a 6/1 winner in his first-round heat of the Greyhound Derby at Towcester, taking the prize scalp of Proper Heiress, the much-fancied second favourite to scoop the £175,000 first prize next month, by one-and-a-quarter lengths at 6/1 in a lively 28.96 seconds.

Droopys Aladdin can use his devastating early pace to beat all rivals in Friday’s second round after receiving a decent draw in trap two and is worth an each-way dabble at 40/1 with sponsors StarSports to add another exciting chapter to former England international Burton’s remarkable sporting portfolio.

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