Birmingham host QPR in a Friday night Championship fixture. The visitors are among the frontrunners this season and given their good form at the moment, should have too much for their inconsistent hosts.
Birmingham City are coming off a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers in their previous Championship fixture. They fell two goals down before the break and could only pull one back 10 minutes from time through Scott Hogan.
The Blues continue to endure an erratic campaign and head into Friday’s clash with just two wins from their last seven matches. John Eustace’s men are currently 15th on the table, three points above the relegation zone and the top 10.
Among the problems for Birmingham City this season is an unconvincing record at St Andrew’s where they have won just twice. They have been beaten at home by Wigan and Norwich City this term but played out a 1-1 draw with Burnley in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
QPR are enjoying a fine campaign this season and look well on course for automatic promotion. They are currently second on the table, just two points behind Burnley, having played a game less than the leaders.
Although QPR were beaten 3-1 by Luton Town in their previous away fixture, they have maintained a solid record on their travels this season. They have claimed four wins on the road so far, a run that includes a 3-2 victory at Watford and a 1-0 triumph over Sheffield United.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Birmingham City priced at 8/5 by SBK while a QPR victory is valued at 2/1 by Betfred. A draw is set at odds of 11/5 by bet365.
Recent head to head
QPR did the double over Birmingham City last season, claiming a 2-0 victory at Loftus Road before winning 2-1 at St Andrew’s Stadium.
Players to watch
Scott Hogan shoulders much of Birmingham City’s attacking threat and has scored seven Championship goals so far. The striker also has goals in his last two matches and is priced at 5/2 by Paddy Power to find the net on Friday.
Lyndon Dykes has been slowly rediscovering his scoring touch in recent weeks and could be worth keeping an eye on for QPR. The striker has four goals in his last four matches and is priced at 13/5 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
There is plenty of attacking quality on both sides and goals can be expected here. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 14/5 by Unibet, over 2.5 goals is priced at 11/10 by SBK while William Hill is offering 4/5 on both teams to score.
QPR scored first in both meetings with Birmingham City last season and have also grabbed the first goal in their last two matches. Friday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 23/20 with Coral.
This England Championship match between Birmingham City and QPR will be played on Oct 28, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Birmingham City vs QPR prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
