Bristol City vs Birmingham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-08-18 14:00.
Opening their Championship campaign with four points from two games is certainly respectable for a Bristol City side who have finished in the bottom half in each of the last three seasons. A 1-0 victory away to Millwall last weekend was certainly eye-catching, but by no means was it a fluke, with boss Nigel Pearson admitting his side “deserved” the three points.
Pearson also admitted his side’s squad depth helped, and having sanctioned the £25 million sale of prized assed Alex Scott, that squad could be looking even healthier come the end of the window. The transfer window will be on the back-burner when Birmingham come to town, with the Robins having notoriously struggled in this fixture, winning just two of the last nine H2Hs (D1, L6).
The American dream under the guidance of Tom Brady could well become a reality for Birmingham, whose start to the season has mirrored that of Bristol City’s. Edging out freshly relegated Leeds United 1-0 last weekend was a real statement of intent from John Eustace’s side, with the Blues boss describing the victory as “immense”.
Following that up on the road promises to be a stern task, as evidenced by Birmingham’s decisively average Championship away record in 2023 (W3, D3, L6). That all started with a 4-2 defeat at this very ground, but that result does go against the grain somewhat as Birmingham had actually won the four prior H2Hs at Ashton Gate, three of which came by slender one-goal margins.
Players to watch: Matty James 94th-minute game winner against Millwall was his first goal since December 2021, which also came in second half stoppage time! With a similar taste for claiming the late acclaim, Lukas Jutkiewicz scored Birmingham’s added time winner against Leeds, his third goal from his last five to arrive after the 80th minute.
Hot stat: Bristol City have scored exactly once in seven of their last ten Championship home matches.