Coventry City and Bristol City will both be aiming to bounce back from demoralising defeats when they lock horns at the Ricoh Arena in the Championship on Monday afternoon.

Mark Robins's side were brushed aside by Queens Park Rangers 3-0 on Good Friday, while Bristol City suffered an equally dampening 2-0 home defeat to Stoke City last time out.

Match preview

Mark Robins lamented his side's lack of belief on the road as QPR eased to a 3-0 success in Good Friday's second-tier battle, as Chris Willock and Ilias Chair netted either side of Michael Rose's own goal to leave Coventry firmly embroiled in a relegation dogfight.

The Sky Blues have only managed to accumulate one point from their last three fixtures and have also failed to score in that trio of matches, and while they remain four points clear of the drop zone in 21st, Rotherham United have three games in hand and could very easily leapfrog their relegation rivals if they come up trumps in their showdown on April 15.

Coventry also have a daunting fixture with playoff-chasing Bournemouth to contend with next weekend, and with only two wins to boast from their last 13 attempts in the Championship, every point dropped spells danger for the Sky Blues as the fight to avoid relegation to League One hots up.

Despite their alarming away record, Coventry are no pushovers at home, as they have only lost three of their last 15 Championship matches at the Ricoh Arena and have already kept an impressive 10 clean sheets on familiar territory so far - including three from their last four - which represents a possible recipe for success against goal-shy Bristol City.

Nigel Pearson's start to life at Bristol City has hardly been a memorable affair for the 57-year-old, as the immediate case of new manager bounce has quickly dissipated at Ashton Gate following four defeats from their last six in the second tier.

The Robins lost 2-0 to a struggling Rotherham before the international break and suffered another defeat by the same scoreline against Stoke on Friday, as Nick Powell and Steven Fletcher struck either side of the half-time whistle on another miserable home outing for Bristol City, who have now lost seven in a row on their own patch.

As is the case with their upcoming opponents Coventry, Bristol City have taken one point from the last nine on offer and have failed to find the back of the net in that time, but with 14 points separating the 14th-placed Robins from the playoff places and the drop zone, they have very little to play for in the coming weeks.

While Pearson's side just cannot end their torrid home fortunes, they have won three and drawn one of their last four away fixtures - including back-to-back 3-1 triumphs at Swansea City and Middlesbrough - so their away day specialities ought to serve them well at a ground where Coventry's defensive resilience often comes to the fore.

The Robins managed to scrape a 2-1 triumph over Coventry when they met in September, and their most recent visit to the Ricoh Arena was back in the 2014-15 League One campaign, during which they marched to a 3-1 win over the Sky Blues.

Team News

Coventry defender Rose had an afternoon to forget at the weekend, as the 25-year-old scored an own goal before suffering an injury to a delicate area, and Robins has admitted that his centre-back is doubtful for Monday's game.

However, Kyle McFadzean is back from a two-game ban and is expected to come straight back in for the injured Rose, but Fankaty Dabo and Ben Sheaf are set to remain on the sidelines for a while.

Max Biamou has also emerged as a doubt after missing out against QPR, while Matty Godden lasted 59 minutes of his comeback game and may not start again so soon, so Tyler Walker is in contention to feature from the off.

Bristol City also lost a player to injury on Friday in the form of teenage forward Sam Bell, whose first start of the season ended after just 16 minutes in yet another cruel blow for the injury-plagued Robins.

The 18-year-old's hamstring issue is expected to keep him out of this game, meaning an immediate recall for Famara Diedhiou up top is on the cards, but midfielder Liam Walsh has exacerbated a problem of his own in the same area.

Chris Martin, Andreas Weimann and Jay Dasilva all remain sidelined, but Steven Sessegnon is in contention to return at left-back after being rested following his England Under-21s exploits.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Marosi; McFadzean, Hyam, Ostigard; Da Costa, Hamer, James, McCallum; O'Hare, Shipley; Walker

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Hunt, Mariappa, Kalas, Sessegnon; Watkins, Massengo, Lansbury, Palmer; Wells, Diedhiou

We say: Coventry City 0-1 Bristol City

Both Coventry and Bristol City ought to feel confident about ending their goalscoring droughts in this battle, but recent injuries have left Robins and Pearson with more selection headaches to contend with. The hosts' stellar defensive record at home and the visitors' strong recent away run should make for a fascinating battle - one which we eventually expect Bristol City to prevail in - but it will certainly be close.

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