Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Betting Tips – EFL Championship, 4th October 19.45pm
Birmingham City and Middlesbrough go head-to-head in a tasty EFL Championship fixture on Friday night. Both teams failed to win in midweek, as the Blues lost to Wigan Athletic, while Boro were held to a draw by Preston North End. With neither team in good form, both will be desperate for all three points at St Andrew’s on Friday. Birmingham are the slight favourites, but Middlesbrough will certainly fancy their chances in this one.
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Betting Odds*
Birmingham City 13/10
Draw 23/10
Middlesbrough 21/10
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on October 2nd, 2019 at 18:00 p.m.)
EFL Championship Betting at Bet365
Table of Contents
Birmingham City News and Form – Can the Blues avoid a fourth straight defeat?
Birmingham City made a pretty decent start to their season under new boss Pep Clotet, winning four of their opening seven in the Championship. During that run, the Blues got the better of the likes of Brentford, Barnsley, Stoke City and Charlton Athletic.
However, since a Jude Bellingham goal gave them a 1-0 victory at The Valley, Birmingham have gone on to lose three in a row. Clotet’s side were beaten by Preston North End and Derby County before losing at Wigan Athletic last time out.
On Tuesday evening, City fell to a disappointing defeat to the Latics. Clotet’s troops were disappointing at the DW Stadium, with a late Anthony Pilkington goal doing the business for Paul Cook’s men.
After suffering three poor defeats in a row, Birmingham will be desperate for all three points in this one. At the time of writing, the Blues are available at 13/10 to pick up a vital win on Friday night.
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Head to Head
Middlesbrough beat Birmingham home and away last season, scoring three and conceding one
Boro have won each of the last four meetings
Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last ten against the Blues, picking up six wins and drawing four times
When they last met, Lewis Wing and Britt Assombalonga were on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win for Boro at St Andrew’s in January
- Birmingham have lost their last three in the Championship
- Boro are without a win in three in the league (two defeats, one draw)
- The Blues are three points ahead of Middlesbrough in the table at present
Middlesbrough News and Form – Can Woodgate alleviate some of the pressure?
Middlesbrough have not got going this season, as the club have picked up just two wins from ten Championship matches so far. Jonathan Woodgate, who took over from Tony Pulis in the summer, is already starting to feel the heat in the Riverside Stadium dugout.
Boro have started their Championship campaign with two wins, four draws and four defeats. The Reds fell to back-to-back defeats after beating Reading 1-0 at the Riverside in mid-September, with Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday getting the better of them. They were particularly poor against the Owls, crashing to a 4-1 home defeat.
To be fair to Middlesbrough, they picked up a good result against in-form Preston in midweek. Josh Harrop gave the Lilywhites the lead five minutes before the break. However, a Darnell Fisher own goal just two minutes later gave Boro a share of the spoils.
With the pressure starting to crank up on the Boro boss, Woodgate would love to see his team leave the Midlands with a precious three points. The away victory is available at 21/10, while you can get the draw at 23/10. Can Middlesbrough seal their first away win since beating Rotherham United at the New York Stadium on the final day of last season?
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Tips & Odds
Middlesbrough to win at 21/10
Middlesbrough to win and both teams to score at 8/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on October 2nd, 2019 at 18:00 p.m.)
Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Predictions
Middlesbrough win: Birmingham suffered their first home defeat of the season in their last match at St Andrew’s, losing 1-0 to Alex Neil’s in-form Preston. Prior to that, they drew with Bristol City and beat Barnsley and Stoke.
Middlesbrough have certainly had one or two problems on the road, drawing two and losing two of their opening four. In fact, only Stoke, Barnsley and Wigan – who all have one away point to their name – have a worse away record up until now.
In truth, this one really could go either way in the Midlands. However, we can see Middlesbrough picking up a crucial three points on their travels. The away victory is nicely priced at 21/10. Birmingham have netted in three of their four home matches this term, and we fancy them to get on the scoresheet in this fixture. Therefore, have a punt on the Boro win and both teams to score at 6/1.
