Southampton vs Birmingham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-27 11:30.
A disgruntled Southampton manager Russell Martin said that his side “weren’t brave enough to play” at Preston in midweek. While that may have been the case, having conceded two quickfire goals in the second half to let a 1-0 lead slip, a last-gasp leveller earned them a 2-2 draw against a fellow promotion hopeful, so even despite his grumbles at the performance, there were still positives to take.
That late goal kept them in the play-off spots and extended their unbeaten run to five (W3, D2), but such is the level of the Championship now that even the Saints’ 11-point haul amassed in that streak has been bettered by not one, but three different clubs! Accordingly, there’s only one answer for success – win games – something the Saints have done only twice at home in league action this term (D2, L2).
Next on the agenda are Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham, who are still hunting for their first points and goal under his tutelage having lost both games since his arrival in the October international break. Rooney pulled no punches in his assessment of their 2-0 defeat to Hull in midweek, labelling the performance as “embarrassing” as they missed the chance to jump into the top six.
Positively for the Blues, Rooney this weekend visits a happy hunting ground in St Mary’s. In his illustrious playing career, he won five of eight away against the Saints (D2, L1), scoring a brace there for Everton as a fresh-faced 18-year-old back in 2004. This will be his first game against the Saints as a manager, and he’ll be hoping for a dose of beginners luck as he seeks to end Birmingham’s four-match losing streak on the road.
Players to watch: Saints forward Adam Armstrong has seen five of his seven goals this term arrive in the first half, but has now gone 314 minutes without one. Birmingham’s attacking midfielder Koji Miyoshi will be looking to counteract his threat, but he’s more a creator than a scorer, making at least one key pass per game on average.
Hot stat: Southampton have averaged a league-high two goals per game by half-time this term, with Birmingham averaging a league-low 0.77.