Birmingham entertain local rivals West Brom in what should be an exciting clash as Friday night football returns to St Andrew's for the second time in three weeks.
Birmingham vs West Brom Betting Tips
- Draw @ 9/4 with bet365
- Darnell Furlong to be shown a card @ 21/10 with bet365
- John Swift to score at any time @ 9/2 with bet365
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Rivals could cancel each other out
West Brom are certainly the side with more consistency going into this clash but Birmingham’s solid St Andrew’s form means they should be difficult to beat on their own patch.
John Eustace’s men have won three of their first five home league matches, seeing off Leeds, Plymouth and - on Tuesday night - Huddersfield.
That 4-1 success last time out means they will be in good spirits ahead of the Baggies visit and they have shown in their other draws at home against Millwall and QPR just how tough they are to take on at home.
Albion made a slightly underwhelming start to the campaign with two defeats in their first five but they have been pretty much on the up since and, after a run of three consecutive draws against Bristol City, Watford and Millwall, they have recently impressively seen off Preston (4-0) and Sheffield Wednesday (1-0).
Two sides determined to win the local bragging rights may, in the end, settle for a point apiece in what should be an end-to-end affair.
Birmingham vs West Brom Tip 1: Draw @ 9/4 with bet365
Furlong no stranger to fouls or cards
Darnell Furlong has picked up two bookings this season for West Brom and he has given away the most fouls (11) in the Baggies squad in the league.
Furlong is once again set to line up out wide on the right for the visitors and as part of his defensive duties he will probably be tasked with trying to keep Blues winger Siriki Dembele quiet.
Dembele has been in fine form for Eustace’s side of late, scoring twice in the win over Huddersfield on Tuesday, and he will want to get at Furlong, who could fall victim to another yellow on Friday.
Birmingham vs West Brom Tip 2: Darnell Furlong to be booked @ 21/10 with bet365
Swift sailing up the goalscorer chart
John Swift has been outstanding for Carlos Corberan’s side and took his goal tally for the season to five with the early winner over the Owls last time out.
Swift has been a potent attacking threat for Albion as he not only tries to create for the likes of Jed Wallace or Brandon Thomas-Asante, but he loves to get into advanced positions himself and clearly carries a significant goal threat.
Considering he’s the Baggies’ top scorer this season, he looks solid value at 9/2 to net at any time against Birmingham.
Birmingham vs West Brom Tip 3: John Swift to score at any time @ 9/2 with bet365