Birmingham City V Middlesbrough
Friday 4 October 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
English Championship
Pick: Under 2.5 Goals
Odds: 8/13
Bookmaker: MoPlay
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7/5 | 21/10 | 9/4 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 2 October 2019 at 12:50)
Preview: In the knowledge they have lost their last three league games, Birmingham will be hoping a return to St Andrew’s can inspire them for this Friday night clash with Middlesbrough in front of the Sky Sports cameras. Boro, meanwhile, are without an away win all season – so, can the visitors somehow find a way of capitalising on The Blues dismal recent form?
English Championship Betting – 22Bet
Birmingham City Preview – Can The Blues return to form at St Andrew’s?
The Blues have been producing some rather uninspiring performances for most of this season but were somehow collecting enough points to keep themselves out of the headlines. Their actual process (xGF 0.80/xGA 1.20) has been that of a mid-table/relegation candidate team. However, only recently has this been accurately reflected in their results – with Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat away to Wigan their third loss in a row.
Losing efforts away to Derby County (3-2) and at home to Preston (0-1) preceded the Wigan defeat in midweek, with the one ray of light the fact that the latter outcome remains their only home defeat of the campaign thus far. Caretaker manager Pep Clotet has overseen four Championship fixtures at the club’s St Andrew’s stadium, winning precisely half of them (W2 D1 L1, GF5 GA3). Both victories, however, were against sides struggling near the bottom of the table: beating Barnsley (W2-0) and Stoke (W2-1), having also drew with Bristol City (1-1).
Goals have been a big problem all season: only three teams have scored fewer than their figure of 9, which means they have been averaging slightly fewer than a goal per game. Meanwhile, on only three occasions have Birmingham found the back of the net more than once in the league in 2019/20. That same ratio (30% of their total games) applies to how many games involving The Blues have featured both teams on the scoresheet – although that does improve to 50% when at home.
Middlesbrough Preview – Will Boro finally celebrate a first away win?
It felt like a very bold move at the time of his appointment and, with only two months of the campaign completed, you have to wonder whether the club are already beginning to regret putting so much faith in the decision to appoint a manager with no previous experience. Since former England international Jonathan Woodgate took charge in the summer, Middlesbrough have won two of ten EFL Championship matches (W2 D4 L4) and been eliminated from the EFL Cup at the first hurdle by League Two’s Crewe.
Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Preston at The Riverside was a first point in three league games (D1 L2), stopping the rut of sorts having been beaten heavily at home by Sheffield Wednesday (1-4) the previous weekend. The picture becomes even more gloomy away from home, where this side are still to register an away victory after four failed attempts against Luton (3-3), Blackburn (1-0), Bristol City (2-2) and Cardiff (1-0).
The biggest criticism of this side resides in the defending, because going forward the team do possess firepower and have shown this throughout a wretched campaign thus far. On only one occasion in their past seven league games have Boro not managed to score at least one goal, though scoring enough of them remains a serious problem, notching one goal or fewer 80% of the time. Meanwhile, their process has been that of a team destined for relegation (xGF 1.1/xGA1.5).
Birmingham City V Middlesbrough Key Facts:
- Birmingham have tasted defeat on one occastion in a home EFL Championship match in 2019/20 (W2 D1 L1).
- Middlesbrough are still to register a first away league victory of the season (W0 D2 L2).
- This same fixture in 2018/19 would finish in a 2-1 scoreline in favour of the visiting side, Middlesbrough.
Betting Summary
As Championship games go, this is unlikely to be the most riveting of spectacles. Neither are in any sort of positive form – not even close, in fact – with Birmingham desperate to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat and Middlesbrough attempting to win away from home for the first time all season. The hosts would receive a tentative vote of confidence on account of them possessing a handy home record (W2 D1 L1).
A more realistic bet could be backing a quiet affair. As already mentioned, neither are in good form which means any likelihood of these sides playing some fluent, free-flowing attacking football seems minimal. Boro do have a tendency to notch at least once in their games but rarely more than a solitary effort, meanwhile The Blues have scored one or fewer in three of their last four league fixtures.
