League Cup: Coventry v Birmingham Tip

After the sacking of Andy Thorn at the weekend, Coventry caretakers Richard Shaw and Lee Carsley have the perfect opportunity to advance their claims for permanent roles in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

The truth is that the Sky Blues haven’t been far away from making a good start to the campaign and Thorn would surely point out that they do in fact remain unbeaten after four matches. The problem was that City surrendered the lead to draw in all three league matches to date, something that never goes down well with an anxious board.

However, a home match against local rivals Birmingham City may be just what’s needed to galvanise the Ricoh Arena. The Championship side have made a poor start themselves and new boss Lee Clark won’t enjoy seeing the club in the bottom three even at this early stage.

They were outplayed by Watford at the weekend and also lost their other away fixture to date at Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls have only just arrived from League One, a division that Coventry are yet to lose in. The Sky Blues must therefore rate as a solid value bet at best odds of 12/5 (Bet365).