West Brom v Birmingham City
14 September 2000hrs
Football – England – Championship
Pick Birmingham AH+1.5
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.65 odds taken 1018 GMT, Tuesday 13th September
Wednesday evening brings us further action from the Championship and features this upcoming clash between West Brom and Birmingham City at The Hawthorns in a west midlands tussle with both teams looking to improve upon their league positions of 16th and 21st respectively.
Table of Contents
West Brom Preview – Can Baggies convert all three points?
West Brom have made a slow and sluggish start to this new Championship season despite suffering just the one defeat to date from their opening eight games of the season, as the hosts have become something of the ‘draw specialists’ so far this term, drawing six of these eight games and losing 2-1 away from home at Blackburn Rovers.
West Brom have also captured a 5-2 home win against one of Steve Bruce’s former clubs, Hull City, but that’s been the only real highlight so far for The Baggies’ fans who have seen their side pick up points in no fewer than six stalemates which has slowed down the hosts’ ambitions of fighting for at least a play-off spot this season.
This slow start means West Brom now trail 6th placed Watford and the play-off pack by at least a four-point margin prior to these midweek fixtures, but the bigger picture shows that The Baggies have lost just one of their previous 11 matches overall in the English second tier.
Within this period, West Brom have picked up just three wins overall, but the hosts have been a tough unit to beat on home soil at The Hawthorns as Steve Bruce’s side have lost just once in their last 11 matches in their own backyard.
Only three of these 11 home games have seen West Brom win by a 2-goal margin or better though, and along with losing 1-0 away at Birmingham City in the last meeting back in April of last season, The Baggies have failed to beat The Blues by a 2-goal margin in each of their last three meetings at The Hawthorns.
Birmingham City Preview – Can Blues win back to back?
A resolute and determined Birmingham City outfit walked away from Deepdale with a 1-0 win against Preston NE in their last outing in the Championship which not only ended a miserable run of five games without a win (including four defeats), but also handed The Blues a vitally important three-point haul which has helped lift the visitors out of the bottom three for the time being.
Birmingham had previously lost four of their preceding five games with losses incurred against Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic, Rotherham United and Norwich City, whilst picking up just one point from the 15 points on offer during this worrying spell of results by way of a creditable 1-1 draw at home with Watford.
A clean sheet and all three points though can do wonders for a team’s confidence and Birmingham City manager, John Eustace, will be demanding more of the same team spirit and character that his side showed at Preston when they make the short trip to The Hawthorns on Wednesday night.
The bigger picture shows Birmingham City are no without their troubles though as aside from the legal wrangling over potential new owners taking over at St Andrews continuing behind the scenes, The Blues have managed to win just two of their last 14 matches overall in the Championship.
In addition, Birmingham have collected just two wins from their previous 19 outings on the road, so an away win here seems highly unlikely but it’s a west midlands clash and Blues will be heartened by their away win at Preston last time out.
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West Brom v Birmingham City
Key Facts – West Brom v Birmingham City Tip
- West Brom have lost just once in their last 11 home matches
- Birmingham have collected just 2 wins from their previous 19 away outings
- West Brom have failed to beat Birmingham City by a 2-goal margin in each of their last 3 meetings at home
West Brom are favourites for this clash but the hosts’ price looks way too short considering it’s a west midlands derby and that Birmingham recorded an away win on their travels in the game beforehand. The visitors look capable of keeping the scores close here.
The best betting odds for West Brom v Birmingham City
West Brom to win: 1.44 at bet365
Draw: 4.33 at bet365
Birmingham to win: 8.00 at bet365
