Swansea City v Birmingham City Betting Tips – EFL Championship, 25th August 12.00pm
On Sunday afternoon in the EFL Championship, Steven Cooper’s in-form Swansea City welcome Pep Clotet’s Birmingham City to the Liberty Stadium. The Swans, who lost Graham Potter to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, have been the surprise package in the Championship so far, picking up ten points from four games. As for the Blues, they have seven points to their name from a possible 12. Can Swansea secure a fourth league win of the season on Sunday?
Swansea City v Birmingham City Betting Odds*
Swansea City 10/11
Draw 5/2
Birmingham City 16/5
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 23rd, 2019 at 17:30 p.m.)
Visit Bet365
Table of Contents
Swansea City News and Form – In-form Swans to strike again?
To many people’s surprise, Swansea City have hit the ground running this season, winning four of their first five games under new boss Steve Cooper, who took over from Graham Potter in the summer. The Swans also lost several long-serving players over the summer months, with the likes of Leroy Fer, Martin Olsson and Wayne Routledge – plus others – moving on. Meanwhile, Daniel James and Oli McBurnie were sold for big money.
The Swans have made an excellent start to their campaign, kicking off with a 2-1 home win over Hull City before drawing 0-0 at Derby County. The Welsh side then beat Northampton Town 3-1 in the cup and Preston North End 3-2 in the league, with both wins coming at the Liberty Stadium.
In midweek, the Swans overcame a tough test at Loftus Road. Bersant Celina gave Cooper’s troops a first-half lead, with Jordan Hugill levelling for Queens Park Rangers 20 minutes into the second period. However, the Swans pushed on to get the win in London, with Borja Baston and Sam Surridge scoring late goals.
Swansea will be hoping that their stunning form can continue with another win on home soil this weekend. Victory for the Swans on Sunday will be their tenth win in their last 13 league and cup games at the Liberty.
Swansea City v Birmingham City Head to Head
When Swansea and Birmingham went head-to-head at the Liberty in January, the pair played out a thrilling 3-3 draw
Both Championship meetings ended all square last term
The Swans have won just one of their last six matches against the Blues
Swansea have not beaten Birmingham in league action since 1995
- Swansea are joint top of the table with Leeds after four games
- Birmingham have lost their last two on the road
- Both teams picked up wins in midweek
Birmingham City News and Form – Can the Blues leave South Wales with a positive result?
Birmingham City have made a decent start to their season. The Blues have secured wins over Brentford and Barnsley, drawn with Bristol City and lost at Nottingham Forest to take seven points from an available 12.
After a poor 3-0 defeat to Forest at the City Ground, Birmingham hit back with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Barnsley at St Andrew’s on Tuesday night. Lukas Jutkiewicz sent them on their way with the opener in the 69th minute, with Alvaro adding a second shortly after.
Birmingham were pretty solid on the road in the Championship last season. Despite finishing in a lowly 17th place, the Blues won seven, drew eight and lost eight to take 29 away points. However, the club have won just two of their last nine away from home in all competitions, losing their last two.
Getting anything from Sunday’s game in South Wales against the joint leaders of the division is a tough ask for the Blues, but Clotet’s side will back themselves to return to the Midlands with a positive result.
Swansea City v Birmingham City Tips & Odds
Swansea City to win at 10/11
1-0 correct score – Swansea City at 6/1
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on August 23rd, 2019 at 17:33 p.m.)
Swansea City v Birmingham City Predictions
Swansea City win: The Swans have made a blistering start to their season, and the Welsh team are the 10/11 favourites to pick up another win this weekend. Birmingham will do their best to limit Swansea’s strong attack, but I fancy the hosts to claim a narrow win at the Liberty. Back the Swans to prevail (10/11).
The Blues were pretty toothless at the City Ground last weekend, as they were thumped 3-0 by Sabri Lamouchi’s Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, Kristian Pedersen’s header at Brentford on the opening weekend remains their only away goal in three league and cup matches on the road this season. Birmingham could struggle to break through the home side’s defence on Sunday, so I’m putting money on Swansea to sneak a narrow 1-0 victory, which is available at 6/1.
