Coventry vs Shrewsbury Predictions

• Shrewsbury have scored an average of just 0.59 goals away from home this season.
• Less than three goals have been scored in six of Shrewsbury’s eight away games against the current top half, five of which they’ve lost.
• Only Fleetwood have conceded less shots on target at home than Coventry, who surrender an average of just 2.24.

Not a cloud in sight for Sky Blues

The future is starting to look very bright for Coventry, who’ve now established a five-point lead at the top of League 1. They’ve also played a game less than their closest pursuers, so things really are looking up for Mark Robins’ title challengers.

It’s taken them some time to get to the top, but now that they’re there, the Sky Blues show no sign of waning. Winners of six of their last seven, Coventry have become an extremely tough team to go up against. Even the top teams have struggled against the league leaders of late. Saturday’s host recently got the better of both Sunderland and Portsmouth, keeping a clean sheet on both occasions.

At their adopted home of St. Andrew’s, Coventry haven’t lost a game since October. They’ve since gone 11 unbeaten, six of which they’ve won, keeping four clean sheets in the process. Moreover, they’ve not conceded more than once at their temporary home since September, which doesn’t exactly bode well for Shrewsbury, who’ve struggled for goals on the road this season.

Shrews up and down

16^th position isn’t a glamorous place to be in any league table, but the Shrews aren’t in much danger of going down, while they’re picking up wins reasonably regularly. However, they’re finding it very tough to be consistent, while their overall efforts on the road of late have been underwhelming, particularly from an attacking point of view.

Scoring goals has been a problem for Shrewsbury on the road this season. Saturday’s visitors have scored in just one of their last four travelling matches, while they average just 0.59 goals for on the road in general this term. Such a figure isn’t ideal, especially when Coventry have surrendered an average of just 0.65.

Hosts to pick up where they left off

Coventry are tough to oppose ahead of this fixture, though we shouldn’t assume that the league leaders will run riot. The best option appears to be ‘Coventry to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’. Coventry’s recent form speaks for itself, but they’re not big scorers, not even at St. Andrew’s, where they’ve scored more than once in just three of their last ten. Less than four goals have been scored in each of those ten. Shrewsbury struggle for goals on the road, as an average of 0.59 suggests, while they’ve found it very tough to get going away against the current top half, scoring in just one out of eight. Add in that Coventry are very good at restricting teams in terms of shots on target, conceding an average of just 2.24 at their temporary home, and a bet on a low-key home win is the way to go.

In the ‘Correct Score’ market a 1-0 home win stands out. Coventry have scored once in four of their last five at home, while Shrewsbury, who’ve regularly failed to score on the road, have only conceded more than once in four of their last 14 away matches.