Cardiff City vs Birmingham City
English Premier League, KO: 12:30 Aug 13, 2022, Cardiff City Stadium
Cardiff City host Birmingham City in the lunchtime kick-off in the English Championship on Saturday with both teams still attempting to find their rhythm this season.
It has not been the best start to the campaign for Cardiff City, who are struggling to find their best form so far. It appears to be all downhill for the Welsh side since claiming a 1-0 over Norwich City in their opening fixture.
Cardiff suffered a 2-1 defeat at Reading in their previous Championship fixture despite taking the lead through Callum O’Dowda. A 3-0 Carabao defeat to League One side Portsmouth completed a difficult week for Steven Morrison's team.
One of the problems for Cardiff City this season is they are not scoring enough to offset their leaky defence. They have already conceded six goals in their three matches so far while finding the net just twice.
Birmingham City have not fared much better than Cardiff City in the early stage of the season, having also claimed just one win so far. The win came in their previous Championship fixture as they beat Huddersfield Town 2-1 with Scott Hogan and Przemyslaw Placheta getting the goals.
That is the only win in three matches for Birmingham City this season as they were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Norwich City on Tuesday. They came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw in regulation time before losing on penalties.
Another similarity with Cardiff City is the defensive vulnerability as Birmingham City have also struggled to keep things tight at the back this season. The difference between both teams is that the Blues have looked slightly better going forward with striker Scott Hogan already off the mark.
How the bookies view it
Cardiff City have the edge among the bookies and are priced at 7/5 by Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Birmingham is valued at 9/4 by Coral while bet365 is offering odds of 23/10 for a draw.
Recent head to head
There was nothing to separate Cardiff City and Birmingham City last season as they drew both meetings. They battled to a 2-2 draw in Birmingham before settling for a 1-1 scoreline in Cardiff.
Players to watch
Callum O’Dowda has caught the eye for Cardiff City this season and is already off the mark with his goal at Reading. The attacker will be the one to watch on Saturday and could be backed to score at 19/5 with Unibet.
Scott Hogan will be looking to build on his goal last time out against Huddersfield Town and will be the one to watch for Birmingham City. Paddy Power has the forward at odds of 3/1 to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in five of their last six meetings and given their defensive problems this season, a repeat could be on the cards at 11/12 with SBK. Over 2.5 goals can also be considered at 5/4 with Unibet while BetVictor is offering odds of 10/3 for over 3.5 goals.
Cardiff City and Birmingham City often make slow starts, so the second half could be tipped to produce the most goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between Cardiff City and Birmingham City will be played on Aug 13, 2022 and kick off at 12:30. Check below for our tipsters best Cardiff City vs Birmingham City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Both teams to score