Coventry boss Mark Robins has challenged forwards Ellis Simms and Haji Wright to hit the 20-goal mark following their fine 3-1 victory at Huddersfield.
Simms continued his stellar form in front of goal, hitting a first-half brace to put Coventry in control at the John Smith’s Stadium.
The former Everton frontman has now notched 12 goals in his past nine outings across all competitions.
With 11 minutes left, substitute Rhys Healey pulled a goal back for Huddersfield but Wright made the points safe for the visitors deep into added on time. Both Simms and Wright have registered 16 goals so far this season.
Robins said: “It’s good and they will be pushing to get to the 20-goal mark.
“There are enough games in the season for them to do that and I think that’s a realistic target for them both. It’s there for them.
“Their team-mates are creating chances for them. They are being positive. Hopefully we can keep doing the same and keep getting them into good positions to give them opportunities to score.
“There is friendly rivalry between them (Simms and Wright). It is good to see and the confidence is there.
“They know they are going to score and that’s the level you need to get to as a striker.
“They know they are going to hit the target; they will miss some but, more often than not, they are making good decisions.
“The talent is there for everybody to see and they’ve just got to keep going.”
It is now five matches without a win for Huddersfield as their relegation fears grow.
With seven games left to play, they currently occupy the final spot in the drop zone on goal difference.
Head coach Andre Breitenreiter said: “We had a good start. We had the best chance in the first 15 minutes with Josh Koroma.
“We should take the lead. We need more quality in the final third.
“They scored out of nothing. We were the second winner in every duel.
“We didn’t win enough individual duels in the first half and we spoke about that at half-time.
“Some players didn’t show their best performance today. I made substitutions and they did well and it changed in the second half. They did a great job.
“We knew one goal could change many things. We played more bravely and offensively.
“We then scored after the substitutions and we had the supporters behind us.
“You need a little bit of luck. We tried everything. It was very close in the end.”
Despite their precarious position, Breitenreiter remains confident Huddersfield can stave off the threat of relegation.
“I see the potential and the quality but we have to show the quality to finish and defend the goal,” he added.
“We have to stay together and fight together for survival. We, as a coaching staff, have to do our job.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
