Will Birmingham beat the promotion favourites?

This week is basically all about the international competitions, but the ball is also rolling in the toughest second division in the world. After all, there are no less than 46 match days to be played in the regular season, so one English week follows the next. One of the top matches on matchday seven is the clash between Birmingham and Fulham

After six rounds played, the league is still very balanced and there are just three points between first and eighth place in the table. These two teams are also in this group. Birmingham currently have eleven points on their side, while Fulham have collected 13 points so far and are in second place.

Premier League relegated Fulham are also considered by the best bookmakers as the very big favourites for direct promotion, after all, the Cottagers were able to keep many stars after relegation. Therefore, it is not surprising that the current betting odds show the visitors as the clear favourites in the clash between Birmingham and Fulham. The game kicks off at Birmingham’s St. Andrew’s Stadium on Wednesday evening at 20:45.

Birmingham – Statistics & current form

Birmingham have been hanging around in the second-tier Championship since the 2011/12 season, only missing out on a direct Premier League return in the play-offs in the first year after relegation. Since then, “The Blues” have had to dither several times to avoid relegation to the third-tier League One. The tenth place in the table has been the maximum of feelings in the last nine years.

Lee Bowyer causes euphoria

Despite this, there is a bit of euphoria at Aston Villa’s big city rivals these days. In March 2021, Birmingham, in acute relegation trouble, presented 44-year-old ex-professional Lee Bowyer as their new head coach. Bowyer immediately brought a new wind into the club and with a strong finish, the club was finally able to celebrate another relegation.

This good form was carried over into the new season and with three wins from the first six league games of 2021/22, the first interim result is also very positive. Birmingham celebrated three victories, drew twice and only lost the home game against AFC Bournemouth.

Four times to nil

Generally, the Championship has a reputation as the toughest second division in the world not only because of the amount of games it plays, but also because of the way it is played. Football in England’s second division is extremely physical and many teams have room for improvement.

This also means that relatively few goals are scored. Last season, only 40.9 per cent of all games ended with a score of over 2.5, and Birmingham games averaged only 2.13 goals. This season, too, only a few goals are scored as a rule. This is also due to the very strong defence, because Birmingham conceded only three goals in six games and thus have the best defence in the league In the top match Birmingham vs Fulham, a prediction on the Under 2.5 and “Both teams score: No” is certainly a good option.

Predicted Birmingham line-up:

Sarkic – Roberts, Dean, Pedersen – Bela, Sunjic, Woods, Colin – Hogan, Jutkiewicz, Chong

Fulham – Statistics & current form

In the winter transfer window, they once again tried to avoid the threat of relegation with big-name loan signings. In the end, however, Scott Parker’s team missed out on staying in the league by a wide margin and had to plan ahead for the Championship.

Nameable squad for the Championship

With the Portuguese Marco Silva, a new coach was signed for the mission of re-promotion, but otherwise there were no really serious departures to cope with. Many stars like the Serbian international Aleksandar Mitrovic (already a four-time season goal scorer) remained loyal to the club. With the Welshman Harry Wilson, the Cottagers managed a king transfer who, together with Mitrovic, should score the necessary goals.

Measured by Transfermarkt.de’s market values, Fulham have by far the most valuable squad at their disposal. Regardless of these notional values, the objective for the former Watford and Everton coach is clear – promotion is the only thing that counts this season.

First defeat against an underdog

This role as favourites in the tough Championship is one that Fulham knew how to fill in the first few weeks. After the opening draw against Middlesbrough (1-1), the team from the capital celebrated five wins in a row In addition to the four victories in the league, Fulham also won the match in the English League Cup.

But last weekend they had to cope with the first small setback, when Fulham surprisingly lost 1-0 to promoted Blackpool. For Fulham, this was only the fourth goal conceded in seven competitive games in 2021/22 and a clear indication that a concentrated performance is needed against any opponent. A response is now expected and given the much higher quality, Birmingham v Fulham is a perfectly reasonable prediction on the visitors.

Predicted Fulham line-up:

Gazzaniga – Robinson, Ream, Adarabioyo, Odoi – Onomah, Seri – Cavaleiro, Quina, Reid – Mitrovic

Birmingham – Fulham Direct comparison / H2H balance

According to the recent duels between the two teams, a bet on the under 2.5 offers itself on Wednesday night between Birmingham and Fulham. Of the last eight direct duels, this bet has been crowned with success seven times, the only exception being the Birmingham home game in the 2017/18 season (3:1).

In this still young season, it will already be the second duel, as the encounter took place in the English League Cup just three weeks ago, which the Cottagers from London won 2-0.

Birmingham – Fulham Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

According to the recent duels between the two teams, a bet on the under 2.5 offers itself on Wednesday night between Birmingham and Fulham. Of the last eight direct duels, this bet has been crowned with success seven times, the only exception being the Birmingham home game in the 2017/18 season (3:1).

In this still young season, it will already be the second duel, as the encounter took place in the English League Cup just three weeks ago, which the Cottagers from London won 2-0.

Birmingham – Fulham Tip

Both teams are looking back on a good start to the season, yet the guest from the capital is considered the clear favourite. Not necessarily surprising, as the home side have often been embroiled in the Championship’s relegation battle in recent years, while the visitors are the big favourites for promotion. As a result, Birmingham v Fulham odds of just over 2.00 are on offer for the Cottagers to win.

The home side will try to suppress the superiority of the visitors with a lot of fighting spirit. The game will probably not be pretty to watch and scoring chances will most likely be scarce. Nevertheless, the forecast for Birmingham against Fulham seems to be right, because the higher individual quality should sooner or later tip the scales in favour of Fulham