Birmingham City and West Brom square off in a Friday night Championship fixture with both teams looking to build on solid results last time out. Separated by just one point, the rivals appear evenly matched at the moment and could be set to cancel each other out.
Birmingham City are coming off a 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town in their previous Championship fixture. They raced to a three-goal lead thanks to a brace from Sirki Dembele and a Koji Miyoshi effort before Jordan James added a fourth deep into added time.
That was a much needed result for Birmingham City, who had failed to win any of their previous six matches. John Eustace’s men are now just inside the top half of the standings, one point off the top six and will be keen to use that result as a jumpstart for a playoff push.
While things have been undoubtedly rough for Birmingham City, St Andrew’s remains a solid hunting ground as they have lost just once in their last six home matches. However they had played out two straight draws prior to the win over Huddersfield Town and have also kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches in front of their fans.
West Brom are also coming off a win as they edged out Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 last time out in the Championship. They struck an early lead through John Swift and were able to fend off the visitors and hold on for the win.
That was the second straight win for West Brom, who also picked up an impressive 4-1 victory at Preston North End in their previous fixture. Carlos Corberan’s men are now unbeaten in their last five matches and up to fifth on the table.
While West Brom have shown some good form lately, they have been plagued by too many draws, particularly on their recent travels. They played out three straight away draws prior to the win at Preston North End.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be expecting a closely fought encounter with a win for Birmingham City priced at 17/10 by Paddy Power while a West Brom victory is valued at 9/5 by Unibet. Bet365 is offering odds of 9/4 for a draw.
Head to head
West Bromwich Albion have a 42-34 advantage with 28 draws from 104 previous matches against Birmingham City. However, the Blues have won the last three fixtures, claiming a 2-0 victory in the most recent meeting at St Andrew’s back in February.
Players to watch
Birmingham City often spread their goals across the team but Jay Stansfield could be worth keeping an eye on. The forward has found the net three times this season and is priced at 3/1 by bet365 to score anytime on Friday.
John Swift carries a major goal threat from midfield and has found the net five times already this season. He could be worth keeping an eye on for West Brom and is priced at 9/2 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
Birmingham City and West Brom often enjoy an open style of play and given their attacking quality, both teams could be backed to score at 17/20 with William Hill. The hosts saw over 3.5 goals in their previous fixture and a repeat is priced at 3/1 by bet365 while over 2.5 goals is valued at 6/5 by William Hill.
The Blues have seen more goals after the break in three of their last four matches and Friday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This England Championship match between Birmingham City and West Brom will be played on Oct 6, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Birmingham City vs West Brom prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
