Birmingham City and Stoke City Square off in a Boxing Day Championship fixture with both teams looking to find some traction for their campaign. Neither side has been at their best this season and having been plagued by too many draws lately, another stalemate could be on the cards here.
Birmingham City are still trying to find some momentum under Wayne Rooney having picked up just two wins since the former DC United manager was appointed. They have been on a steady decline down the table and are now just four points above relegation zone.
The Blues head into Tuesday’s clash off the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw at Plymouth Argyle last time out in the Championship. Jay Stansfield, Jordan James and Juninho Bacuna were all on target as they threw away a two goal first half lead.
Birmingham City will be looking to spark up their resurgence in front of their fans having suffered just two defeats in their last 11 home matches. However, they have picked up just one win in their last four matches at St Andrew’s, playing out two draws in that run.
Stoke City are also coming off a draw as they were held 0-0 by Millwall in their previous Championship fixture. They were all over the visitors, particularly in the second half but were let down by some profligacy in front of goal.
While new manager Steven Schumacher will be disappointed with the result, he will take some positives from the performance as he looks to turn Stoke City’s fortunes around. That was the third straight draw for the Potters, who are actually winless in their last nine matches.
Stoke City have also found things difficult on their travels this season and have claimed just one win in their last six away matches. They were held to a 1-1 draw by West Brom in their previous Championship fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be expecting a closely fought encounter with a victory for Birmingham City priced at 8/5 with bet365 while a Stoke City win is valued at 9/5 by Coral. A draw is set at odds of 23/10 by Unibet.
Head to head
Stoke City have a 32-24 advantage with 20 draws from 76 previous matches against Birmingham City. Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in last season’s meeting at St Andrew’s Stadium.
Players to watch
Jay Stansfield is the leading scorer for Birmingham City with six Championship goals this season and will be the one to watch on Tuesday. The forward was on target last time out at Plymouth Argyle and is priced at 5/2 by BetVictor to find the net once again.
Ryan Mmaee often features in attack for Stoke City and could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward is expected to trouble the Birmingham defence with his pace and movement and is priced at 14/5 by Coral to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Birmingham City and Stoke City often struggle to keep things tight at the back and both teams could be tipped to score at 4/5 with Betfred. The Blues produced over 3.5 goals in their last fixture and a repeat is priced at 29/10 with Betting while William Hill is offering odds of 21/20 for over 2.5 goals.
Both teams have been level at the break in three of their last four meetings and could be set for a halftime draw at 11/10 with bet365.
This England Championship match between Birmingham City and Stoke City will be played on Dec 26, 2023 and kick off at 17:15. Check below for our tipsters best Birmingham City vs Stoke City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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