Swansea City v Birmingham City
19th September 20201500hrs
Football – England – Championship
Pick Home Win
Bookmaker sportingbet
Odds: 11/10 odds taken 1500 GMT, Wednesday 16 September 2020
Week 2 of the Championship is underway and both sides enter this match off the backof impressive victories. Only one team can come away with a win unfortunately this time round albeit a draw. Both camps will definitely enter the game in high spirits however, as they give their all to do themselves and the fans justice in a highly anticipated fixture.
Table of Contents
Swansea Review – Can the swans repeat their strong performance away at Preston back home?
Swansea entered this match after a surprise 1-0 over strong championship contenders Preston North End last Saturday. A single goal by new Wolves loanee Morgan Gibbs-White proved to be the decisive winner in the match.
Swansea have grown quite the reputation in benefitting from the loan system from Premier League teams following the latter end of last season’s fortunes with Connor Gallegher and Rhian Brewster almost propelled them to a Championship Play-off final.
Where last season’s positives provide fond memories for the nostalgic few, the current affairs of the club leave a lot left to be desired. Swansea have the challenge now up until the transfer deadline to find a replacement for Rhian Brewster’s productivity upfront.
His 10 league goals in 20 matches definitely provided the huge surge up the table that saw Swansea finish in the play off places. Those ten goals either need replicated through the rest of the squad from the likes of Matt Grimes, for example in midfield or out in the transfer market with another loan prospect or a more permanent remedy to the goalscoring conundrum.
Fans will be hoping that the recent acquisition of Jamal Lowe from Wigan will provide the missing goals that Brewster would have provided.
The 26 year old managed 11 goal contributions in 46 appearances last season, which is double the appearances that Brewster played so the pressure will be on him to see a better return of end product especially being surrounded by better service.
The Swansea set-up seems to rely on the break and to counter with pace with the likes of Andre Ayew and Connor Roberts out wide. They are happy to concede possession, a feature that was evident in their last game against Preston where they finished with 40% in possession for the game but still managed to come away with all three points in the game.
Birmingham Review – Can the Blues score enough goals to see themselves victorious once again?
Aitor Karanka was welcomed with a shocking 1-0 victory by last season’s high flyers Brentford last weekend with a 1-0 victory at home. He put his faith in youth giving young prospect Zach Jeacock his debut in goal and he was rewarded with a man of the match performance and a clean sheet.
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Jeremie Bela was the man of the moment in terms of attack. Netting in the 37th minute of the game. From that point on a resolute Birmingham managed to shut out Brentford and their abundance of creative and attacking players.
The one concern for Karanka and Birmingham moving forward is the lack of goal contribution reading into a season where no resting on your laurels is acceptable.
Last season the blues only managed to score 54 goals in 46 matches, and without a permanent first choice striker there is a large possibility that the record could be repeated or even less than the previous season.
15 of those goals last season came from Lukas Jutkiewicz which equates to 28% of all Birmingham’s goals last season. A lot of pressure for one man to consistently provide the goal scoring threat for a team financially struggling.
The next striker that Biriingham can rely on falls on the young shoulders of youth prospect Adan George. A young man with tremendous talent but his first taste of first team football will be a huge ask for someone to ensure that Birmingham are safe from relegation.
Will he produce the kind of season from fellow age mate and now Borussia DOrtmund midfielder Jude Bellingham? Only time will tell.
Swansea City v Birmingham City Betting Advice
This fixture comes at a great tie for both teams to really set up a strong foundation to kick start their season. And with both teams free from EFL cup fixtures a week of preparation will serve them well in time for this match.
Key Facts – Swansea City v Birmingham City Betting Tip
- Both team produced 1-0 wins last times round
- Swansea had 40% possession against Preston
- Swansea beat Birmingham 3-1 last time round
Swansea were comfortable 3-1 winners time round, and will be expected to produce a similar performance come saturday. However the absence of lonee talismann Brewster could mean that the potency upfront is no longer a danger.
Karanaka’s men will be motivated off the back of a huge win against Brentford and will be looking to bring that momentum in this match, which shall be a fierce clash nonetheless.
The best betting odds for Swansea City v Birmingham City
Swansea to win: 11/10 at Sportingbetr
Draw: 11/5 at Sportingbet
Birmingham to win: 5/2 at Sportingbet
