Troy Deeney names five reasons Coventry City are ‘absolutely’ the team to fear in Championship play-offs

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Coventry City are set to compete in the Championship play-offs after they saw off Middlesbrough.

The Sky Blues’ form has dipped in recent weeks, seeing their spot in the top six come under threat before the Championship final day.

Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Boro could all catch Coventry City on Saturday, meaning they had to win.

They did so in style, with Frank Lampard’s call to start Ben Wilson against Middlesbrough looking inspired.

Wislone earned praise from Boro and Coventry supporters on the day as he kept a clean sheet en route to a 2-0 win for the home side.

Troy Deeny praises Coventry City after Middlesbrough

It was a solid performance from Coventry, who have since earned praise from former player Troy Deeney.

Lampard’s men have joined Sheffield United, Sunderland, and Bristol City as the four teams set to compete in the Championship play-offs.

Sheff Utd are miles ahead of every other side in the top-six right now, but Deeney believes it is Coventry who are the team ‘you don’t want to play’.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	45	28	13	4	93	29	64	97
2	BurnleyBurnley	45	27	16	2	66	15	51	97
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	45	28	7	10	62	35	27	89
4	SunderlandSunderland	45	21	13	11	58	43	15	76
5	Bristol CityBristol City	45	17	16	12	57	53	4	67
6	CoventryCoventry	45	19	9	17	62	58	4	66

Speaking live as a pundit on Sky Sports post-match, he said: “I thought today tactically, emotionally, it was spot on. When you’re talking about the subs, the small subtle changes that they did. Obviously Middlesbrough are chasing the game, let’s not go away from that. But they never felt Middlesbrough changed the style in which they wanted to play. It was always the same thing, pass, pass, pass.

“When Coventry made changes, it was ‘right we’re going to spin them, we’re going to turn them’. Brando,n when he came on was excellent. In my opinion, he only played half an hour, but he’s Man of the Match for me. He was that good, that impressive when he came on.”

On what makes Coventry so good, Deeney listed off five different reasons: “And just all the way through, they can hurt you with set pieces, they can organise, they’re set up well, and they’ve got pace and power. So they’re the team now that you don’t want to play in the play-offs, absolutely.”

Championship play-off dates

The Championship play-off semi-finals kick off for Lampard’s men on May 9 when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The reverse fixture takes place on May 13 at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

The winner of those meetings will then face either Sheffield United or Bristol City in the final on May 24.