Sheffield Wednesday v Birmingham City Betting Tip Sheffield Wednesday – 10 February 2017

Wednesday to continue good home form with win

Championship Tips

Friday 10th February 2016 Kickoff: 1945hrs Sheffield Wednesday v Birmingham City Football – England – Championship Friday night’s Championship encounter takes place at Hillsborough as promotion chasing Sheffield Wednesday face a Birmingham team who eventually recorded their first win under Gianfranco Zola last weekend. With that monkey of their backs, the Blues will feel more equipped to become only the fourth visiting team to defeat Sheffield Wednesday in front of their own fans and, at the same time, put a spanner in the works as the Owls look to go one better than their playoff final defeat last season.

Sheffield Wednesday returned to the top six last week with a hard fought win away to Wigan. A solitary goal from Ross Wallace was enough to give them just their second win in six games and get them back on track ahead of what will be a hectic last third of the campaign. In order to further their chances of a return to the top flight for the first time in well over a decade, the Wednesday owners have backed head coach Carlos Carvalhal with significant financial resources by bringing in two major signings at the close of the January transfer window. Adam Reach was brought in Adam Reach on a permanent deal after starring on loan from Middlesbrough whilst the major addition was Jordan Rhodes from the same club – a player who has scored consistently at this level for a number of years and one who Sheffield Wednesday fans will feel has the firepower to lead them to success. Scoring goals has undoubtedly been their major issue and if Rhodes is able to find his best form between now and the end of the season you would think Wednesday will go close considering they have the third best defence in the league.

It has not been a happy start to proceedings for Gianfranco Zola who assumed the manager’s position at Birmingham when taking over from Gary Rowett who was surprisingly sacked back in the middle of December. Since then, Birmingham have played 11 games – nine of them in the league – and finally managed to get that elusive victory at home to Fulham last Saturday. The 1-0 score line suggests it was a narrow win but in truth it was well deserved, even if they did have to wait for the only goal after their opponents had been reduced to 10 men in the second half. The win leaves the Blues nine points outside the top six but they have played one game more than Sheffield Wednesday, who they of course face this weekend. Should they be able to back up their win last week then it would certainly bring them back into the discussion of potential top six and playoff contenders but one win is just that and Zola has to find a way to bring consistency to a team that has been some way below their performances of earlier in the season.

Sheffield Wednesday v Birmingham City Betting Tip

We’re getting to the stage of the season where points are at their most difficult to come by for all teams as most have something to play for whether that’s at the bottom or the top of the table. Sheffield Wednesday found that out last week as they had to battle and scrape for the three points against relegation threatened Wigan where as Birmingham went well over a month without recording a victory. With the hosts in command of the final playoff spot and their opponents on Friday striving to get back into discussion for the same position, this fixture promises to be no less competitive.

Wednesday have been strong at home and boast nine wins from their 13 games thus far. Their recent record is extremely impressive, too, with four wins and a draw in their last five and conceding just one goal in the process. That suggests the task that the visitors face is a difficult one, not least as they have not won on the road since the end of November. The blues have only won three away games in the league this season which – if they are to realistically challenge for the top six – they will have to seriously improve between now and May, starting on Friday.

I doubt this will be a game for the purists and would not be surprised if just one goal decides it. With that in mind, Wednesday’s recent additions, especially Rhodes, could be the key difference between the two sides and I’m going to side with the home team to put more distance between themselves and Birmingham by taking all three points.

Sheffield Wednesday 5/6 @ Betfair