WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON — The so-called ‘richest game in football’ sees Coventry City take on Luton Town with a place in the Premier League at stake.
Luton finished 10 points ahead of the West Midlands side in the regular season, with the Hatters securing a 3rd-placed finish despite the departure of manager Nathan Jones in December.
Rob Edwards — once in charge of local rivals Watford — seamlessly kept their promotion push on track, as they search for a first top-flight campaign in 31 years.
Coventry, meanwhile, were last in the Premier League 22 years ago, and have been through the ringer since. Financial woes and several ownership wars befell the club as they moved away from Highfield Road, but the recovery is now, finally, almost complete.
Mark Robins — best known for saving Alex Ferguson’s job during his playing career — began his second spell as Coventry boss down in League Two in 2017.
The Sporting News is live from the home of football, with pregame, live goal updates and highlights below.
MORE: How much money is the EFL Championship playoff final worth?
Coventry vs Luton live score
| Team | Latest score | Goalscorers |
| Coventry | 1 | Hamer (66) |
| Luton | 1 | Clark (23) |
Coventry vs Luton live updates, highlights from EFL Championship playoff final
90th min: As with the first half, there are eight minutes of added time. It’s becoming very stop-start at this point, but Luton are taking territorial control again.
84th min: If any team looks likely to score a winner at this point, it is Coventry. They’re completely reenergised, while Luton appear sapped in comparison to the first half.
74th min: After his assist, Gyokeres is now really in the game, this time cutting in and finding Godden, but the substitute can’t keep his effort down. The West Midlands club are in the ascendancy.
66th min: GOAL! Coventry equalise and the west half of Wembley erupts! Hamer finishes well from the edge of the area after a low ball across from the left as their counter-attacking pays off with a three-on-three. His effort takes a slight deflection on the way in to the bottom left of Horvath’s net.
*Watch in UK:
HAMER PUTS COVENTRY BACK IN IT! 💥 pic.twitter.com/iuKuyvPyoO
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 27, 2023
60th min: The immediate pressure from Coventry has died down, with Luton dragging it to a slower pace once more. The losing side are unable to really craft any moments of quality.
51st min: Coventry can absolutely smell blood now with Horvath, who has a rush of it to the head as he sprints out but fails to deal with an attack, almost leaving an empty net for Hamer but Osho is first to the ball to save his teammate’s blushes.
48th min: A nervy moment for Luton stopper Horvath, whose lax pass out hits the boot of Hamer, but the Coventry man can’t quite divert it into the net. Early optimism in the stands behind the goal the Sky Blues are now shooting towards.
46th min: The second half is underway with one change at the break, as Godden replaces Allen for Coventry as they try to force the issue.
HALF-TIME: We go into the break with Luton 1-0 up, and it’s no less than the men in orange deserve on the balance of play.
45th min: Given the stoppage for Lockyer earlier in the half, there’s eight minutes of added time.
43rd min: Coventry’s first big chance of the afternoon is put over the bar. A cross from the left evades the goalkeeper and reaches Hamer at the back stick, but he can’t keep his effort down. It’s woken the travelling Sky Blues up, at least, as the fans again find their voice.
41st min: Luton again have the ball in the net and celebrations are cut short, this time for a handball. A clearance from Doyle goes straight into the arm of Adebayo and in. The striker is involved in everything right now, as the Hatters turn the screw.
30th min: Word has emerged that Lockyer is conscious after his earlier, worrying departure. Sky Sports report that he has seen family members in the tunnel.
29th min: Another big chance goes begging. Adebayo this time has the opportunity to get his own name on the scoresheet after Morris effort is blocked, with several defenders on the ground, but his awkward effort goes wide.
23rd mind: GOAL! What a move from Luton to take the lead! Adebayo does wonderfully down the left flank, flicking the ball over McFazdean, cutting back, twisting and turning past his man again, and having the composure to pick out Clark. He takes a touch and then leathers it with his left boot for a wonderful near-post finish.
*Watch in UK:
What a STRIKE Jordan Clark!! ⚡
LUTON TAKE THE LEAD AT WEMBLEY 🟠 pic.twitter.com/0OLhEOegsk
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 27, 2023
22nd min: Chances for Luton. Some solid pressing high up the field forces Coventry into their own third, with Ruddock winning it back and swinging in a cross from the left, but Morris skies his effort. A couple of minutes later, Ruddock himself has an opportunity to let fly from the edge of the box, but the effort is tame and easily saved.
13th min: The Hatters have a real problem here at the opposite end of the field, with the physio signalling Lockyer’s race is now run. After an extremely lengthy stoppage, the injured man comes off on a stretcher, replaced by Reece Burke.
5th min: Luton have the ball in the back of the net but it’s ruled out for offside! From a corner, Lockyer bundled the ball in after a save on the line, but was ruled offside from the initial header forward. VAR is in use today.
KICK-OFF: We’re underway! One of these teams is 90 (or 120) minutes away from dreamland. Just before kick-off, Luton players spent a long time stood on the centre-circle in a line, staring out their opponents who were already in position.
20 mins to KO: Coventry have got their own piece of history to make. Promotion today will see them as the first club to drop down from the Premier League to League Two, and then climb all the way back up again, in the modern era.
Since their drop from the top-flight in 2000/01, Coventry moved into the then-Ricoh Arena but the switch of stadium turned out to be a financial disaster when coupled with relegation. The Sky Blues eventually lost ownership of the ground, and now lease it on a short-term contract, from none other than new owner Mike Ashley.
40 mins to KO: If Luton win today, they’ll become the first team ever to rise from non-league to the top division in the Premier League era. They were most recently in the fifth tier in 2013/14, with star striker Andre Gray firing them up.
The Hatters were actually founder members of the Premier League back in 1992, but were relegated in the same year, so never got to see the bright lights for themselves.
1 hour to KO: Team news is in. Both sides are unchanged from the semi-final second legs, setting up in 3-5-2 formations.
📋 Lining up for the Sky Blues this afternoon…#PUSB pic.twitter.com/BDgf3uzE4J
— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) May 27, 2023
Your play-off final Hatters. 🫡#COVLUT | #COYH pic.twitter.com/PHHmxlsBsQ
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 27, 2023
1 hour 20 mins to KO: Both of these sides faced North East clubs who would see themselves as Premier League stalwarts in the playoff semi-finals, in Sunderland and Middlesbrough, and both got through by a single goal.
Coventry played out a goalless draw at home against Boro, yet came away from the Riverside Stadium with an impressive 1-0 victory in the second leg thanks to Gustavo Hamer. Luton had to turn around a 2-1 deficit from their first leg away to the Black Cats, before producing a 2-0 win at Kenilworth Road in the return.
1 hour 40 mins to KO: Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage from Wembley, as Luton and Coventry end a gruelling 49-game season with a glorious prize on the line. Promotion to the Premier League for just a single season could be worth as much as £200 million to the winner, and will create a lifetime of memories for the fans.
Those fans have all seen fourth-tier football as recently as the 2017/18 campaign. Luton climbed up automatically that season from the bottom rung of the EFL ladder, while Coventry won the playoff final. The Sky Blues spent two years in League One before rising to their current Championship status, while today’s opponents impressively sealed back-to-back promotions.
Coventry vs Luton lineups, team news
Coventry’s nine-match unbeaten run going into the playoff final has been, in part, thanks to Mark Robins’ use of the 3-5-2 formation, which he’s almost certain to deploy against Luton at Wembley. He does, however, have a few players unavailable.
Callum O’Hare will miss out with a knee injury while Kasey Palmer is sidelined with a muscle injury. Fabio Tavares has been out since January with a leg problem.
Coventry (3-5-2): Wilson (GK) — McNally, McFadzean, Doyle — Norton-Cuffy, Sheaf, Kelly, Hamer, Bidwell — Allen, Gyokeres
- Injured: O’Hare, Palmer, Tavares
- Suspended: None
Luton look set to match Coventry with a 3-5-2 system of their own. And Rob Edwards also boasts a fully fit squad to choose from, a luxury not on offer to his opposite number Robins.
Luton (3-5-2): Horvath (GK) — Osho, Lockyer, Bell — Drameh, Clark, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Doughty — Morris, Adebayo
- Injured: None
- Suspended: None
How to watch Coventry vs Luton: Championship playoff final live stream, TV channel
The playoff final at Wembley Stadium in London kicks off on Saturday, May 27 at 4:45pm local time.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | ESPN+ |
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event | Sky Go, NOW TV |
| Australia | beIN Sports 2 | Kayo Sports, beIN Sports Connect |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| Hong Kong | 661 Sports Station | — |
| India | — | FanCode |
| Malaysia | — |
— |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 7 | beIN Sports Connect |
| Singapore | — | — |
Coventry vs Luton betting odds
The bookmakers have Luton slight favourites to snatch the third promotion spot to the Premier League, but there’s not much in it.
| COV win |
LUT win |
Both teams to score Y / N |
Over / Under 2.5 goals |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) |
2.10 | 1.72 | — | — |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) |
+205 | +141 | -102 / -154 | +146, -189 |
| SkyBet (UK) |
11/5 | 7/5 | 1/1 , 8/11 | 1/2 , 6/4 |
| Neds (Australia) |
3.10 | 2.40 | 2.05 / 1.70 | 2.45 / 1.50 |
| Dafabet (India) |
3.13 | 2.45 | 2.06 / 1.71 | 2.52 / 1.48 |
