Coventry City and Oxford United will clash at the CBS Arena on Friday in the second gameweek of the 2024-25 EFL Championship campaign. Coventry were fancied to emerge as the winners against Stoke City last week but were dealt a harsh reality check, losing 1-0 away from home.
It was a largely cagey affair with both teams combining to muster just three shots on target over 90 minutes. Lewis Baker eventually found the back of the net for Stoke City as late as the 78th minute of the match to ensure Mark Robins’ unit got off to a losing start to their Championship campaign.
Coventry subsequently squared off against Bristol City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night and managed to eke out a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a second-half strike from Ellis Simms.
Meanwhile, Oxford got off to a winning start to the 2024-25 EFL Championship, winning 2-0 against Norwich City at Kassam Stadium last Saturday. It was an emphatic victory for the Yellows who won the playoffs last season to make it to the Championship.
They managed to tap into what seems to be a rich vein of form to pick up a 2-0 win over Peterborough United in the EFL Cup in midweek.
Coventry City vs Oxford United Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Coventry and Oxford have clashed in five league matches so far. Coventry have won four of those matches while Oxford have been victorious once.
- Oxford picked up a 1-0 win in their last trip to Coventry back in March 2019.
- Coventry have suffered consecutive losses in their last three Championship matches.
- Only two freshly promoted teams have won their first two matches of a new Championship season since 2012-13. Charlton did it in 2019-20 and Norwich pulled it off in 2023-24.
- Ellis Simms has netted five times in his last five league starts at the CBS Arena.
Coventry City vs Oxford United Prediction
Oxford United will show up at the CBS Arena with a spring in their steps and are likely to give Coventry a run for their money. But Coventry should be able to produce a strong response to their opening-day defeat and earn a narrow win here.
Prediction: Coventry City 2-1 Oxford United