The form book goes out of the window as the second Midlands derby of the season takes place on Sunday with former Blues manager Steve Bruce welcoming his old team to Villa Park for the first time. The two teams are operating at very different ends of the Premier League but both desperately need points – for very different reasons.
Skybet Championship – Aston Villa v Birmingham City – Villa Park – Sunday 11th February 2018 – 12:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 13/5 at Unibet |
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Aston Villa
Birmingham CityAston Villa
The Villains are currently 3rd in the Championship table – one point behind Derby County in second place and will be courting the Rams in pursuit of an automatic promotion birth. 56 points from 30 games played is a good return for Steve Bruce’s men who are unbeaten in their last 6 Championship matches. Albert Adomah ended his barren run for the Villains last time out and will be desperate to get scoring again to add to his goal tally of 13 for the season.
Birmingham City
Despite their well-publicised struggles this term, Birmingham are have only lost two of their last 9 matches in all competitions – including an impressive 3-1 away win at struggling Sheffield Wednesday last time out in the Championship. Steve Cotterill looks to be having a positive impact for the Blues – although he’ll be keen to see his team improve on their league position of 19th – four points above the drop zone. Sam Gallagher has been one of the very few bright sparks for the Blues this term and he’ll be looking to add to his tally of 7 goals.
Head to Head
This is one of the bitterest rivalries in English football between two teams steeped with tradition. Aston Villa hold the superior head to head record with 54 wins to Birmingham City’s 38 – with another 33 draws being played out between the Black Country rivals. Their meeting earlier in the season at St Andrews, ended as a 0-0 draw in a game where very few chances were created between two teams eager to preserve local pride.
Aston Villa v Birmingham City – Betting Odds and Predictions
Birmingham had struggled for goals this season until the last few matches and this could be an open match.
Both teams to score – YES – looks a good punt at 23/20 with William Hill.
Albert Adomah has been in great form for the Villains this term and would love to score in this fixture.
Albert Adomah to score anytime looks over priced at 15/8 with Coral.
Derby matches can be cagey but this should be an entertaining encounter.
Over 2.5 goals in the match is a valuable punt at 13/10 with Ladbrokes.
Birmingham are sure to be up for this one but Aston Villa look in great form currently.
Aston Villa to win the match looks a shrewd move at 8/11 with Skybet.
Score Prediction
Aston Villa 3 – 1 Birmingham City – 16/1 with Bet Victor.
Top Betting Tip Aston Villa v Birmingham City
This bitter rivalry is always a fiery encounter and the atmosphere could get the better of some of the players. A red card in the match is a real possibility at 5/2 with PaddyPower.