The weekend action kicks off with a derby on Friday night as West Brom make the short trip to take on Birmingham. George Gamble picks out a best bet.
Football betting tips: Sky Bet Championship
2pts Both teams to score at 10/11 (General)
Birmingham edged a thriller away at Swansea last time out, but they’ll be keen to put an end to a miserable run of form on home soil having suffered defeats in all of their previous three league outings at St. Andrews.
The hosts have lost six of their last ten league outings and it leaves them looking perilously over their shoulders as they sit just seven points clear of the relegation zone.
That sounds like a fair distance but a string of bad results in this division can see a team slide further and further down the table, just as the Blues have done lately.
Kick-off time: 20:00 GMT, Friday
TV Channel: Sky Sports Football
Birmingham 13/5 | Draw 12/5 | West Brom 21/20
In contrast, West Brom are one of the form teams in the division having secured victories in eight of their last ten league outings.
In fact, in that time only league leaders Burnley have accrued more points than West Brom’s 24. They’re not fazed on the road either and Carlos Corberan’s men have managed to hit the back of the net in 12 of their 14 road fixtures this term.
It’s always tough to call which way a derby will go, but there is no denying that the visitors are the side in form and are rightly favourites coming into this one.
They’re still over evens to claim victory in what’s expected to be an entertaining clash and you’d be brave to back a winner here. Instead, the more appealing market looks to be goals and both sides can certainly contribute here.
As previously mentioned, the visitors have regularly hit the back of the net on the road this season and with the Blues keeping just four clean sheets across their 15 home matches, you have to feel there will be chances for West Brom to get themselves on the scoresheet.
That said, despite their good form, the visitors can’t always be trusted not to give away chances and that’s evident by the fact that of the 14 road matches they have played in the Championship this season, they’ve shipped at least one goal in 11 of them.
Both teams have hit the back of the net in four of the last five meetings at St. Andrews and the 10/11 available on it happening once again here looks to be a standout pick on Friday night.
Birmingham v West Brom best bets and score prediction
- 2pts Both teams to score at 10/11 (General)
Score prediction: Birmingham 1-2 West Brom (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct at 2115 GMT (07/02/22)
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