Birmingham vs Luton prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-02-24 15:00.
Birmingham fans still fear a relegation battle after midweek brought a third successive defeat (1-3 vs Norwich) to leave them just seven points clear of danger. A seventh straight finish inside the Championshipâs bottom third remains a real possibility, though the Blues are just three wins from matching last seasonâs entire tally (47) which saw safety via 20th place.
Getting the first of those here will surely require a strong start, with Birmingham recovering just a solitary point (from 21 total) across seven home league matches to see them concede the opener. But thatâs a fate they havenât suffered in any of the previous three H2H clashes with Luton (W2, D1), with the Blues plundering eight unanswered goals across those victories!
Victorious at St Andrewâs just twice in the past 40 years â albeit as recently as February 2021 â Luton will certainly remember the 3-0 drubbing they took in last seasonâs corresponding fixture. This can only increase their determination to end a winless league streak at three games (D2, L1), following an FA Cup humiliation by the same scoreline at Grimsby.
Luton remain in the top-six for now despite that poor recent run, and still have plenty of backers to finish there, thanks to a five-game unbeaten away run in the league (W3, D2) that includes three early leads. Those âbackersâ could argue that the Hatters have been unlucky with authority lately too, having dropped points via the penalty spot in all of their last three Championship outings.
Players to watch: Juninho Bacuna opened the scoring in last seasonâs corresponding fixture, but he is still yet to score at home this term. As for the visitors, Carlton Morris gave Luton the lead on their most recent road trip (1-1 vs Preston), which was the sixth goal across his last seven to break the deadlock.
Hot stat: All four Championship penalties awarded against Luton have been converted this season, making them the only side with a 0% defence rate amongst teams to have faced four or more.