BIRMINGHAM CITY v SWANSEA CITY
Friday 17th August 2018 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – England – Championship Betting Tips
There’s also action from the Championship on Friday night with a clash between Birmingham City and Swansea City at St Andrews with further betting tips available for the second tier.
Birmingham manager, Garry Monk, will face one of his former clubs on Friday night in the shape of Swansea City who many believe he was unfairly dismissed after several years of loyal service, and indeed, played in every division of the Football League for The Swans.
But Swansea’s loss has been Birmingham’s gain as Monk steered The Blues to safety at the end of last term, winning five of their last nine league games including an emphatic last game of the season 3-1 home win over eventually promoted Fulham, which secured their Championship status.
However, Birmingham find themselves once again in familiar territory in this new campaign as they sit in 19th place after a 2-2 draw with Norwich City and a 1-0 defeat to another of Monk’s old clubs, Middlesbrough, last weekend.
Despite all the problems, Birmingham City head into Friday evening’s clash against Swansea City with a six-match unbeaten run under their belts at St Andrews.
Swansea City suffered the agonising feeling of relegation at the end of last season in the Premier League, and it’s now up to new boss, Graham Potter, to achieve a swift return to the top flight in this new campaign.
Potter also faces one of his former employers in Birmingham City where he began his career as a trainee and went on to play for the first team during the 1992/93 season. After a solid career as a defender, Potter went on to become manager of unfashionable Swedish club, Ostersunds, bu he put them firmly on the footballing map last season when he guided them top their first ever appearance in the group stages of the Europa League.
He now faces the biggest challenge of his managerial career in getting The Swans back up to the Premier League, but back-to-back wins over Sheffield United (away) and last weekend’s home win over Preston North End has given them a great start.
Both Monk and Potter’s managerial styles is to play possession-based football and keeping things tight at the back. My betting tips therefore advise backing a low-scoring affair in this clash.
Pick: Under 2.5 @ 1.73 Betfair
