Hull vs Birmingham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-03-04 19:45.
Hull City extended their unbeaten Championship streak to five matches by drawing 0-0 with Preston on Saturday (W3, D2), keeping them in the final play-off position. After two consecutive hard-fought draws with fellow promotion contenders, they can be forgiven for identifying this clash with relegation-threatened Birmingham City as an opportunity to strengthen their chances of a top-six finish.
But those promotion ambitions could be dented if they can’t improve their home form as the Tigers have won just one of their last four Championship fixtures here (D1, L2), with a lack of goals contributing to their struggles. In only one of their last six home league games did they score more than once (W2, D1, L3), something they also failed to do in both of the last two H2Hs here (D1, L1).
For the second game in a row, Birmingham conceded late goals en route to defeat, but Saturday’s 4-3 loss to promotion-chasing Southampton was particularly painful as the winner came deep into second-half injury time when they looked set to hold out with just ten men. Only goal difference is keeping them out of the relegation zone as they prepare for their third consecutive fixture against a side inside the top six.
The Blues did draw 1-1 here in the FA Cup in January so they shouldn’t travel without hope, even if their recent away league form has been poor, scoring just once in their three Championship road games last month (L3). They’ve actually been struggling on the road all season, highlighted by the fact they have already lost 12 league trips – their most in one term since losing 16 back in 2017/18.
Players to watch: Anass Zaroury’s last two Championship strikes for Hull came inside the opening 15 minutes and the forward scored in the first minute for Burnley against Birmingham last season. While Birmingham’s Lukas Jutkiewicz has scored two of his three goals in this campaign after the 80th minute and he also netted inside the first 20 against Hull in January’s FA Cup H2H here.
Hot streak: Each of Hull’s last five H2H wins was accompanied by a clean sheet.