West Brom vs Birmingham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-09-13 19:00.
West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce described a comeback 1-1 draw with Burnley last time out as “just the result that we needed”, and the Baggies have now had extra time to prepare for this derby due to the Queen’s sad passing. However they remain at least five points worse off than at this stage of their last three Championship campaigns, so finding solutions to arrest a run of no clean sheets in five may have been Bruce’s priority during the extended break.
Not since a 3-2 top-flight defeat in 2005 have West Brom lost at home against their rivals Birmingham City though (W3, D2), with Baggies boss Bruce ironically managing Birmingham that day! West Brom could be well poised to continue that run here, with the former Blues player and manager, Bruce, now unbeaten in four of his last five meetings with his old club (W2, D2, L1).
Birmingham City ended a six-game winless run (D1, L5) by becoming the first team to score against and beat Preston in the league this season with a recent 1-0 victory. Yet the celebrations of that success were cut short by boss John Eustace, who stated “there’s going to be lots more dark and miserable days ahead” in a rather downbeat post-match interview, considering the result.
That forewarning could ring true here as Birmingham are often left feeling blue following victory, having failed to notch back-to-back league wins in this calendar year! Even so, a 1-0 Birmingham defeat in this corresponding fixture last season was the catalyst for a four-game unbeaten run with three clean sheets within that, so even with defeat here, better days could be on the way for the touted relegation battlers.
Players to watch: West Brom’s Karlan Grant has scored three Championship goals this season, while five of his last six scoring appearances saw him net the team opener. As for Birmingham, Troy Deeney will be looking to build on his four goal contributions in six H2Hs against the Baggies (G2, A2).
Hot stat: Referee Josh Smith has averaged 3.68 yellow cards per Championship game with 125 from 34 officiated games.