Three goals in 11 minutes late in the first half secured a seventh win in eight games for the Sky Blues.

Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Matt Grimes scored against his old club.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto added a third before half-time.

Coventry move nine points clear of Middlesbrough, who drew 0-0 at relegation-threatened Blackburn, with seven games to go.

"If we don't score more, we're not going to win so many of those last seven games, so that's something we need to work on," said Boro boss Kim Hellberg.

Coventry are now 11 points clear of Ipswich after they were held 1-1 by Millwall in a clash between third and fourth.

Ipswich would move above Middlesbrough should they win their game in hand.

But Kieran McKenna's men missed the chance to strengthen their push for promotion after taking a first-half lead against Millwall through Jack Clarke.

Josh Coburn hit back to secure a vital point for the visitors as they aim to reach English football's top tier for the first time since 1990.

"In reality I thought we should win the game and I'm disappointed we didn't," said McKenna.

In the battle for the play-off places, Wrexham came from behind to beat Sheffield United 2-1 to remain in the hunt for a fourth consecutive promotion.

In-form Southampton remain in sixth on goal difference after a 2-0 win over Oxford.

Hull beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 to maintain their three-point lead over both Saints and Wrexham in fifth.

Leicester remain on course to be relegated to the third tier just a decade on from winning the Premier League after a 0-0 draw at Watford.

The Foxes move to within one point of safety as Portsmouth were thrashed 6-1 at QPR.

West Brom boosted their survival hopes by beating Bristol City 1-0 for their first away league win since October.