Birmingham City vs Barnsley
1st December 1945hrs
Football – England – EFL Championship
Pick Draw & BTTS
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 7/2 odds taken 1600 GMT, Monday 30 November
Birmingham City and Barnsley square off in a big EFL Championship fixture this Tuesday night at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium. Aitor Karanka’s men could do with maximum points having picked up just three league wins this term, while Valerien Ismael’s Tykes have lost two in a row after four wins from five. Who will prevail in the Midlands in midweek? Check out our in-depth betting preview.
Table of Contents
Birmingham City Preview – Will the Blues get back to winning ways?
Aitor Karanka’s reign at Birmingham City got off to the best possible start. Against all odds, City secured a 1-0 home win over last season’s losing play-off finalists Brentford. Since then, however, the Blues have picked up just two more league wins.
Back in late October, Birmingham claimed back-to-back 2-1 victories over Huddersfield Town and Preston North End. However, they have failed to win since, collecting just three points from a possible 15. After defeats to Wycombe Wanderers and Bournemouth, Birmingham have drawn each of their last three.
With Karanka’s boys languishing down in 17th place, Birmingham could really do with all three points from this one. The home side are the favourites, but can they stop a run of five games without victory with a massive three points at St Andrew’s in midweek?
Barnsley Preview – Can the Tykes avoid a third straight defeat?
Valerien Ismael made a stunning impact at Oakwell when he first arrived. The Tykes won four of the first five under new management, seeing off Queens Park Rangers, Watford, Derby County and Nottingham Forest, keeping clean sheets in each of those impressive wins.
However, since a 2-0 home victory over Forest, Barnsley have lost two on the spin. Brentford sealed a 1-0 win at Oakwell last Tuesday, while Blackburn Rovers beat the Tykes 2-1 at Ewood Park at the weekend.
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Like Birmingham, Barnsley have also picked up 16 points from 14 matches. However, they are just ahead on goal difference. Can Ismael’s men leave the Midlands and return to Yorkshire with a positive result in the bag?
Birmingham City vs Barnsley Betting Advice
Birmingham beat Barnsley home and away last season, scoring three and conceding none. Before a Scott Hogan goal earned the Blues a 1-0 victory at Oakwell, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Alvaro were on the scoresheet in a 2-0 City victory at St Andrew’s.
Key Facts – Birmingham City vs Barnsley Betting Tip
- Birmingham have picked up just two Championship wins since beating Brentford on the opening weekend
- Only Millwall have drawn more games (eight) than City (seven) in this season’s Championship
- Ismael has won four and lost three of his first seven matches as Barnsley boss
On paper, these two teams seem pretty evenly matched. As we touched on, both sides have amassed 16 points from a possible 42 so far. This is a tough one to call, so our money is going on the draw. The draw and both teams to score is available at the tempting odds of 7/2.
Three of Birmingham’s seven draws have ended 1-1, while Barnsley’s last stalemate finished in the same scoreline. The 1-1 draw here is nicely priced at 5/1.
The best betting odds for Birmingham City vs Barnsley
Birmingham City to win: 8/5 at Bet365
Draw: 9/4 at Bet365
Barnsley to win: 9/5 at Bet365
