Can anybody stop Coventry City from getting to the Premier League?

• Coventry City are seven points clear at the top of the Championship 
• Middlesbrough, Millwall, Ipswich Town and Preston North End are their nearest challengers
• Brandon Thomas-Asante is the league’s joint-top scorer with 10 goals in 17 games

The Championship is often considered one of the toughest leagues in the world, and it’s been typically tight so far this season. That is, apart from Sheffield Wednesday, stuck at the bottom after a total of 18 points have been deducted this season, and Coventry City, who are ten points clear at the top of the table. 

Since relegation from the Premier League in 2000-01 ended over three decades in the top-flight, the Sky Blues have endured some tricky times. They spent five consecutive seasons in League One in the early 2010s, culminating in a season of League Two football in 2017-18 and then two more in League One before returning to the Championship.

Their initial relegation to League One happened as owner Sisu Capital started to reduce investment amid rising debt, and chairman Ray Ranson’s resignation. They had to groundshare with Northampton Town after a rent dispute with the owners of Ricoh Arena, Coventry Football Club Ltd was dissolved, with the team instead playing under Sisu Company Otium, and later had to play their home games at Birmingham City’s St Andrews amid legal action by Sisu over the purchase of the stadium by rugby club Wasps. 

In 2023, things began to really look up. Local businessman Doug King bought the club, and they made it to the play-off final. And again, they finished in the play-offs last season. Now first in the league, and with nobody near them, can anyone else stop them from romping to the Championship title and getting Premier League football once again? 

What makes Coventry so good?

The obvious aspect of Coventry’s success is that they score a lot of goals. The last time a team had scored as many goals as they had at this point in a second-tier campaign was in 1958-59, and they have over 15 more goals than any other team in the league, a measure of just how relentless they’ve been this term. 

Goals win you matches and get points on the board, and the list of Championship top scorers is littered with Coventry stars. This is Brandon Thomas-Asante’s fourth season in the division, and he’s never been a particularly prolific scorer at this level. He managed four league goals last time out, but already has 10 in 17, one away from his best-ever record of 11 in a Championship season with West Bromwich Albion two years ago. 

American international Haji Wright has chipped in with eight so far, while Ellis Simms has seven. From midfield, Victor Torp has another seven. 

But the Sky Blues also have one of the most miserly defences in the league, too; there are only four teams who have conceded fewer goals. Already, they’ve amassed eight clean sheets, with goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, a large part of their success. 

Centre-back duo Liam Kitching and Bobby Thomas are well-regarded too and have built up a solid, consistent partnership, while Matt Grimes in midfield has a wealth of experience at this level. They’ve had a settled team, using relatively few players over the season so far, though it will no doubt be a concern that Thomas-Asante is now out for six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Frank Lampard has grabbed this opportunity

In the dugout, Frank Lampard has been manager for just over a year, taking over from long-serving Mark Robins in November 2024. The Chelsea legend’s managerial career has been a mixed bag so far, probably succeeding at Derby County on balance before struggling at former club Chelsea and then Everton, before an interim return at Chelsea which saw them finish in the bottom half of the Premier League.

He’s done well at Coventry so far, however, taking them to fifth last season after they were 17th, two points above the relegation zone, when he joined. There was no real shame in losing to play-off final winners Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals, and their current league position speaks for itself. 

In truth, the Sky Blues were given the perfect opportunity to get promoted this season. Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland are no longer in the division, and relegated Southampton and Leicester City don’t always look as if they can mount a serious challenge for the top. Sheffield United, who many would have tipped to be near the top, had an awful start under Ruben Selles and are recovering under Chris Wilder but it would be hard to see them at the top of the table. 

Middlesbrough are the nearest challengers, followed by Millwall, Ipswich, who are showing more signs of life, Preston North End and Stoke City completing the play-off places. Then it’s Bristol City, Birmingham City, Hull City, Queens Park Rangers, these are all decent teams, but they’re all 10 or 15 points behind Coventry at the moment and probably don’t have the same quality in their squads. 

Barring an almighty collapse, which losing 3-0 at Ipswich isn’t, despite it not being ideal, it’s hard not to see Coventry at least finishing in the top two. At a push, maybe Middlesbrough or Ipswich could kick on and close the gap; they’ve got the strongest squads of the chasing pack. 

Coventry are set to host both at home in the next few weeks. They’ve got Ipswich on December 29 and then Middlesbrough on February 16. Win both, and they’ll feel a lot more comfortable. Lose them, and things get a lot more interesting. So, who can stop Coventry? It’s very much in their own hands now, so the only team who could pose a threat are the Sky Blues themselves. 

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