Birmingham City host Huddersfield Town in a Friday night Championship fixture with both teams still seeking their first win of the new season.
Neither side was particularly convincing in their opening fixtures and they look set to cancel each other out.
Birmingham City are coming off a 0-0 draw at Luton Town in their opening fixture of the season. In a game of few chances, they barely troubled the Luton defence and finished with just a single attempt on target throughout the contest.
Having barely escaped the drop last season, Birmingham City appears to be entering a transitional period following all the changes at the club in the summer. However new manager John Eustace will be encouraged with a point on the road in the first game of the season.
One thing that would be especially pleasing to the manager is Birmingham City's defensive display last weekend. They looked solid and organised at the back against last season’s playoff semi-finalists, with goalkeeper John Ruddy particularly impressive.
Huddersfield Town also failed to secure a win in their opening fixture and were beaten 1-0 at home by Burnley last time out. They were second best throughout the encounter and failed to register a single attempt on target.
The Terriers reached the playoffs last season but much like the hosts, they are also attempting to come to terms with a number of changes at the club. They lost key players Harry Toffolo and Lewis O’Brien in the summer while new manager Danny Schofield is still finding his feet after replacing Carlos Corberan barely a month ago.
While it was a generally disappointing opening fixture for Huddersfield Town, they will take some positives, particularly with their defensive display in the second half. They went behind early in the contest but appeared to regroup after the break and fended off a number of attacks from Burnley.
How the bookies view it
Birmingham City have the edge among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/8 by SBK. A victory for Huddersfield Town is valued at 79/40 by SBK while bet365 is offering odds of 9/4 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town have claimed two wins each and as many draws in their last four fixtures. The win for Huddersfield Town was a 2-0 victory at St Andrew's back in February.
Players to watch
Birmingham City showed some defensive quality in their opening fixture with goalkeeper John Ruddy particularly impressive. Marc Roberts also caught the eye at centre-back and both men can ensure the Blues keep a clean sheet at 19/10 with William Hill.
Huddersfield Town will be looking to channel the second-half performance from their opening fixture, particularly their defensive showing. Tom Lees and Rarmani Edmonds-Green are expected to continue and centre-back and will be keen to lead the Terriers to a clean sheet at 9/4 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither team looked convincing going forward on the opening weekend, so Friday’s clash is likely to be a low-scoring contest. There has been BTTS NO in the last two meetings and a repeat is valued at 19/20 with BetVictor while under 2.5 goals is priced at 13/19 by SBK.
Two of the last three meetings have produced a halftime draw and Friday’s clash is likely to follow a similar pattern at 17/16 with SBK.
This England Championship match between Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town will be played on Aug 5, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Birmingham City vs Huddersfield Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.