Birmingham – Middlesbrough : Preview & Prediction
Birmingham City and Middlesbrough play at St. Andrew’s Stadium in a 36th Championship match. In the final clash between these teams in this competition, on 22-11-2017, Middlesbrough won at home for (2-0). The history of direct matches played at this stadium indicates balance between these two teams, since there have been 3 draws in the last 3 matches. Indeed, the last time they met at this stadium was on 29-04-2016, in a Championship match that ended in a draw for (2-2). The goals of the match were scored by S. Gleeson (33 ‘) and D. Davis (68’) for Birmingham City and J. Rhodes (40 ‘) and G. Ramirez (57’) for Middlesbrough. The home / away condition deserves special attention, since although this is a match between the 23rd and 7th of the overall standings, in fact this is a confrontation between the 20th placed in home games and the 11th as a visitor.
Analysis of Birmingham City
The Birmingham team is currently in 23rd place with 30 points earned after 8 wins, 6 draws and 21 losses. In the penultimate match, he lost at home to Barnsley by (0-2). In the last match, lost out to Nottingham Forest by (2-1). This is a stronger team in their stadium, where they have won 20 points, against only 10 in their games as a visitor. In the last 10 home games for the league, Birmingham have won 3 and 7 losses, having won 9 points out of 30. In matches played in their championship stadium, the most frequent result at the end of the first 45 ‘was 0-0, which occurred in 7 of their 17 matches. The team conceded goals to their opponents in 9 of their last 10 games in this competition, so they have not been very strong defensively. In his home games there is a tendency to few goals, since 12 of his last 17 games in the competition finished with Less than 2.5 goals. In 35 games in this competition, he only managed 1 turn on the scoreboard in 21 games in which he suffered the first goal.
Birmingham City arrive to this match with a defeat at the home of Nottingham Forest 2-1, adding in this way the fifth defeat followed by the championship. In this game against his fans, coach Steve Cotterill should not make any major changes compared to his previous lineup, and Maghoma should be the main responsible for organizing the offensive process. On the other hand, Sam Gallaher is Birmingham City’s best finisher for the league with 6 goals scored. It is worth noting that the cast presents enormous difficulties in maintaining possession of the ball and also in the finalizations. For this match the coach will not be able to count on the injured Isaac Vassell.
Review of Middlesbrough
After 16 wins, 7 draws and 12 losses, the Middlesbrough team is in 7th place, having won 55 points. In the last match, he beat Leeds United 3-0 at home, having drawn 1-1 in a game against Sunderland by (3-3). This is a stronger team in their stadium, where they won 33 points, against only 22 in their games as a visitor. In the championship, Middlesbrough won 13 points out of 30 after 4 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses in their last 10 away games. In the matches played out in the league, the most frequent result at the end of the first 45 ‘was 1-0, which occurred in 7 of his 18 matches. The team allowed their opponents’ goals in 7 of the last 10 games for this competition, so they have not been very strong defensively. In 35 games in this competition, only managed 2 turns on the board in the 18 games in which he suffered the first goal.
Middlesbrough arrive for this motivated game after having won a 3-0 home win against Leeds, thus totaling the third game without losing the championship. Despite playing away from home, coach Tony Pulis should maintain his usual tactical scheme, namely 4-3-3, benefiting possession and the attacks organized by the sides. It is important to note that the great highlight of this team is offensive Britt Assombalonga, who scored 12 goals and gave 2 assists. For this match the coach will not be able to count on the injured Leadbitter, Fábio and Gestede.
Birmingham – Middlesbrough : Betting Tips
Middlesbrough – Win Odds: 2.25
Both teams to score / YES – Odds: 1.70
Over 2.5 Goals – Odds: 1.70
