Early season strugglers Burton Albion welcome Birmingham City to the Pirelli stadium in desperate need of some points to kick start their campaign. Find here our Betting Tip.
Sky Bet Championship – Burton Albion vs Birmingham City 17/08/17
Kick off 19:45 GMT Pirelli Stadium
- Burton Albion – Best Odds 2/1 (Bet 365)
- Birmingham City – Best Odds 17/10 (Bet Victor)
- Draw – Best Odds 11/5 (Sky Bet)
Burton Albion
Ill-discipline and a tough fixture list, has left Burton languishing at the bottom of the Championship table with 3 games played. Their opening 3 fixtures – away at relegated Middlesbrough and Hull City as well as an opening day encounter with high-flying Cardiff have left the Brewers without a point on the board this season.
Nigel Clough’s men were level against Hull last weekend before the sending off of Jackson Irvine, which swung the game dramatically in Hull’s favour as they won 4-1. The midweek loss to ‘Boro was perhaps understandable on paper – but Hope Akpan’s straight red card for a wild lunge will surely give Clough some selection problems and some cause for concern. Burton clung on to their Championship status by a point last season and they’ll need to get going soon to avoid being embroiled in another relegation dog fight.
Birmingham City
The Blues have had an inconsistent start to life this season with a win, a draw and a defeat from their opening three fixtures. Harry Redknapp oversaw a sensational great escape last season and has recruited well in the summer and he’ll be keen to start stringing some results together.
Goals look to be the issue at present with City only managing 2 goals in their first 3 league matches and none of which have come from recognised strikers. Redknapp is famed for his proficiency in the transfer market and he’s surely got his eye on a few deals before August is up.
Their midweek stalemate with newly promoted Bolton, only underlined their need for creativity further up the field as the Blues have managed 41 shots in their opening 3 games and as mentioned, have only managed to find the net twice – Redknapp and the Blues faithful will be eager for that to change here.
Head to Head
These 2 sides met for the first time last season with Burton emerging victorious on both occasions and by the same score line – 2-0.
Odds and Predictions
Birmingham will rightfully come in to this one as the favourites – more due to Burton’s poor form than anything spectacular of their own volition – they’re 17/10 with Bet Victor to pick up all 3 points here. Burton’s need for points has been well documented and they’re 2/1 with Bet 365 to claim a home win. The draw isn’t a great result for wither team but could represent value at 11/5 with Sky Bet.
The ‘Draw No Bet’ market offers a chance to back Burton at odds of Evens with William Hill or Birmingham at 17/20 (Bet Victor), with the security of not losing your money the game finishes as a draw. Goals – or the lack of them – could lead to this one being quite a cagey encounter. With plenty at stake not losing may be more important winning at this stage of the season. Under 2.5 goals in the game looks a good move at 4/7 with Sky Bet whilst the braver punter could even go for under 1.5 goals in the game at 15/8 with Paddy Power.
Top Betting Tip
Backing the draw looks good at 11/5 whilst backing the 0-0 draw at 7/1 with Bet 365 could be very lucrative.