Middlesbrough vs Coventry City: EFL Championship Match Preview

The top two teams in the Championship go head-to-head on Tuesday evening, a match which could have huge ramifications for the title race. Coventry City travel to Middlesbrough seven points clear of their nearest rivals, with victory tomorrow night extending their lead to 10 points.

Middlesbrough’s form heading into the game

Despite entering this encounter in second place, Middlesbrough have only picked up six points in their last five matches. Boro’s most recent game was away to Oxford United, a 1-1 draw which allowed Coventry to widen the gap at the top of the table thanks to a dramatic comeback win over West Brom.

Middlesbrough’s only win in this five-game period was a 2-1 victory over Birmingham City. However, Boro have drawn three of the other four games 1-1, coming back from 1-0 down in every fixture. The other result was a 3-0 defeat away to Watford.

Although the hosts haven’t got the best form entering the fixture, the players will be eager to impress, as new Boro manager Kim Hellberg will be watching on. Middlesbrough announced earlier today that the Swedish international will replace Rob Edwards, the former Boro boss leaving to join Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There’s no doubt that the Riverside Stadium will be bouncing come Tuesday night, with both the players and fans getting up for one of the biggest games of their season.

We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Kim Hellberg as our new head coach🤝

Welcome to Boro, Kim 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/tyjgIgVt1q

— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) November 24, 2025

Coventry City's form heading into the game

Coventry head into this game as the team in much better form, winning four of their last five matches. The Sky Blues most recent game was a comeback victory over West Brom, as the hosts recovered from being 2-0 down to win the contest 3-2.

Coventry’s only loss in this five-game period was inflicted by Wrexham, when they found themselves on the receiving end of a 3-2 defeat following a Kieffer Moore hat-trick.

In three of the four wins across this period, the Sky Blues have scored three goals, showing their ability to consistently put the ball in the back of the net.

It’s therefore no surprise that Coventry are the highest-scoring team in the Championship, netting 43 goals in 16 matches.

When looking outside of this five-game stint, Coventry have won nine of their last 10 matches.

It’s this impressive form throughout the Championship campaign so far that has led to Frank Lampard’s team topping the table after 16 games.

Lampard's Coventry have lost only one league game this season and lead the Championship after 16 rounds of matches, 7 points clear of Middlesbrough in 2nd.

This team were fighting relegation when he took over last season. This turnaround is unbelievable.

What a job he's doing! pic.twitter.com/S8UyDZYlvt

— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) November 23, 2025

Middlesbrough team news

There are some injury concerns that hover over the home team heading into the encounter. The trio of Darragh Lenihan, George Edmundson and Abdoulaye Kante are all still out of action.

The quartet of David Strelec, Sverre Nypan, Matt Targett and Dael Fry also have question marks over their ability to feature against Coventry. Strelec, Nypan and Fry weren’t involved in the 1-1 draw against Oxford on the weekend.

Meanwhile, Targett was withdrawn from the match at half-time, making the left-back a doubt for tomorrow’s clash.

Coventry City team news

Brandon Thomas-Asante was restricted to 20 minutes against West Brom on the weekend, as his long trip back from international duty damaged his preparation for this game.

However, the joint top scorer in the Championship looks set to reclaim his place in Coventry’s starting eleven against Middlesbrough.

Luke Woolfenden was left out of the matchday squad completely on Saturday due to illness - the centre-back will hope he is fit enough to be included in the team this time around.

Oliver Dovin remains out of action, as the goalkeeper is still recovering from his ACL injury he suffered last season.

How will the game go?

I think Coventry will get the better of Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, as the Sky Blues have the better form and better attack. Lampard's men look like a formidable unit this season and I don't see Boro being the team to stop them.

With the away team averaging 2.6 goals per game in the Championship this campaign, it means Middlesbrough will need to put a couple past the third-best defence in the league this season.

Coventry have only conceded 15 goals so far in the 2025/26 season; therefore, I don't see Middlesbrough scoring more than one goal. This is reflected in my score prediction for the game, as I think Coventry will come out 2-1 victors against their promotion rivals Middlesbrough tomorrow evening.