Bristol City vs Birmingham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-01-13 15:00.
A 1-1 draw with Swansea in the FA Cup ensured that it’s just the one win from 12 competitive games for Bristol City, a run which stretches back to October. A couple of unsuccessful penalty shouts during that game prompted the Robins to contact the PGMOL over the lack of penalties awarded to them, with boss Nigel Pearson bemused by the long wait since their last spot kick, which will stand at 433 days on this matchday!
The reality of the situation is that Bristol City must improve if they’re to end a woeful eight-game winless run of home games (D3, L5). That sequence has contributed to Bristol City’s worst 26-game record at this level across the past five campaigns and means improvement is urgently needed to extend their meagre three-point cushion to the drop zone.
Just three points above Pearson’s men are Birmingham City, with coach John Eustace overseeing three straight defeats to leave them languishing in the bottom-half. Despite that, Birmingham’s 32-point return after 26 games this season is actually better than in any of their last three seasons, and with a couple of shrewd incomings so far during the January window, hopes are high they can push on further.
The Blues’ away league record isn’t exactly anything to write home about (W4, D3, L5), which includes a joint second league-low return of just ten goals. That could be about to change though as an incredible return of just one defeat from their last 11 visits to Ashton Gate indicates these are indeed happy hunting grounds (W9, D1, L1).
Players to watch: Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo has scored equalisers in each of his last two appearances but failed to win on four of the last five occasions he found the net. Potentially in for a debut here is new Blues signing Reda Khadra. The Brighton player spent the first half of the season on loan at Sheffield United and hit the only goal in 1-0 win in three of his last five scoring appearances.
Hot stat: Birmingham have scored a league-high eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of their games this season.