Birmingham City host Queens Park Rangers in the televised Sky Bet Championship game on Friday night. Michael Beardmore, up almost 26 points this season, picks out his best bets.
Football betting tips: Championship
2pts Ivan Sunjic to make 2+ fouls at 5/4 (Sky Bet)
0.5pts Morgan Fox 1+ header on target at 14/1 (Sky Bet)
Two defeats in four days this past week have put an end to Birmingham City's unbeaten start to the Championship season but they have the chance to rebound against a Queens Park Rangers side blowing either hot or cold so far this term.
All in all, Blues have not won in four games in all competitions and boss John Eustace will be desperate for them to get back on track against a Rangers side he knows well, having served his coaching apprenticeship there between 2018 and 2022.
Gareth Ainsworth's Hoops, meanwhile, looked set for a season of struggle when they lost three of their first four in the league, including an opening-day 4-0 hammering at Watford, but they have won away at both Cardiff and Middlesbrough.
What are the best bets?
While the hosts are comfortable favourites here, they only have four points more than QPR - and Blues' results have dipped recently. Additionally, Rangers have won two of four away so far. It's a tough call and the outright outcome is best left alone.
If you really fancy a flutter on the result, then QPR double chance at a shade of odds-on looks the best value - or 11/5 on QPR Draw No Bet, which returns your stake if it ends level - but they are such an inconsistent side it's hard to trust them.
Instead, I'm pulled towards the 5/4 Sky Bet offer on combative Birmingham midfielder IVAN SUNJIC TO COMMIT 2+ FOULS - the Croatian has made two or more fouls in every game bar one so far this season, averaging 2.1 per match overall.
It's no new phenomenon either - Sunjic averaged two fouls per game in his first season at St Andrews and 1.7 per game the second campaign, which all makes the odds-against on offer look very inviting.
In a tough-to-call game between two sides who are hardly prolific, it's also worth chancing a long shot with value difficult to find in most markets - and I shall have a small play on QPR defender MORGAN FOX to have 1+ HEADERS ON TARGET at 14/1.
The central defender has attempted 11 headers in his past 47 Championship games and offers a set-piece threat on the road for the R's - he's 28s to score anytime if you fancy it but I will stick with 14s for him just to test John Ruddy with a header.
BuildABet @21/1
- Ivan Sunjic 2+ fouls
- Ilias Chair 1+ shots on target
- Jay Stansfield to score or assist
- QPR 14+ fouls
CLICK HERE to back with Sky Bet
If Sunjic is prone to a foul, so are QPR, averaging 13.3 per game so far this term - while playmaker Ilias Chair leads the Hoops' shooting efforts with two shots per match. Over the past five games, that's increased to 2.4 shots per match.
Jay Stansfield has been on fire since joining Blues on loan from Fulham, with three goals in four appearances. Last season on loan at Exeter he registered nine goals and seven assists in 36 games. He's a player who makes things happen.
Score prediction: Birmingham 1-1 QPR (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Team news
Birmingham will have two players back from suspension for the visit of the Hoops.
Defender Lee Buchanan returns from a one-match ban after his late sending-off in last weekend's defeat at Watford while striker Lukas Jutkiewicz is available after missing three games for his straight red card in the Carabao Cup loss to Cardiff.
Boss John Eustace must decide whether to risk fit-again winger Siriki Dembele after his recovery from a hamstring injury but right-back Ethan Laird, midfielder George Hall (both hamstring) and striker Tyler Roberts (calf) remain out.
QPR will again be without midfielder Jack Colback, who is serving the second match of a three-game ban for his dismissal against former club Sunderland, while defender Jimmy Dunne (shoulder) remains sidelined.
Lyndon Dykes is pushing for a start up front after being nursed back from injury - he came off the bench to score the goal that earned Rangers a 90th-minute point against Swansea on Tuesday.
Predicted line-ups
Birmingham City: Ruddy; Drameh, Sanderson, Long, Buchanan; Sunjic, Bielik; Anderson, Stansfield, Miyoshi; Hogan.
QPR: Begovic; Kakay, Cook, Fox; Smyth, Dozzell, Field, Paal; Willock, Dykes, Chair.
Odds correct at 1420 BST (21/09/23)
Match facts
- Birmingham have won their last two league games against QPR, last winning three in a row between 2006 and 2008.
- Queens Park Rangers lost 2-0 away at Birmingham City last season – the Hoops haven’t lost consecutive league visits there since October 2008.
- Birmingham City haven’t lost a home Championship match yet this season, winning two and drawing one so far. The Blues last went unbeaten in their opening four home games in 2018-19, while they last won as many as three of their opening four league games in 2011-12.
- Queens Park Rangers have won four of their last six away league games (L2), having only won one of their previous 14 on the road.
- QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth’s only previous away league match as manager against Birmingham City was in the 2020-21 season as Wycombe manager, winning 2-1.
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