Birmingham City V Wigan Athletic Betting: Saturday, 27th February

Birmingham City V Wigan Athletic

Saturday, 27^th February – 15:00 GMT

Birmingham City

League Position: 10th

Recent Form: LDWLL

Alex McLeish will be hoping Birmingham’s superb home form will stand his players in good stead as the take on a hapless Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon at St. Andrews, with the aim being to extend their unbeaten run at home to ten games. Not since September 26^th have Birmingham lost a home fixture – a streak stretching nearly five months – and they’ll surely feel supremely confident of at least reaching double figures with the visit of Wigan this Saturday in a fixture most punters will make them worthy match favourites.

The Premiership’s most improved team have been punching well above their weight in terms of results and their league position for a while now, but finally, Birmingham are starting to show signs of complacency, something we did predict would happen once their euphoric fifteen game unbeaten run came to end. On Saturday, Birmingham fell to their ninth defeat of the season, which does sound an awful lot for a side that went almost half of the current season without losing a game, when losing at Craven Cottage to a very solid Fulham side. It was a game Birmingham played very well in parts and actually went in at half-time with a lead. However, some stunning strikes from Fulham put Birmingham to the sword and the travellers that day eventually left the capital with nothing to show for their spirited efforts.

The defeat at the weekend to Fulham was their second on the bounce after losing eleven days earlier at West Ham. It was, however, yet another away defeat and they can take comfort from the fact they’ve been far more solid and consistent in front of their home fans than opposing supporters this term. Six of their ten league wins this season have come at St. Andrews, while the difference between the amounts lost at home and away is huge, with Birmingham losing just twice at home compared to the seven defeats they’ve suffered on the road. We wouldn’t go as far as to say St. Andrews has become a fortress, as Birmingham don’t exactly play enthralling football there, nor do they put teams to the sword. They are, however, an extremely tough side to beat at home, with only Aston Villa and Bolton managing such a feat this season. Even the likes of Chelsea & Arsenal have failed to get the better of a resilient Birmingham on their own patch, so what chance do their opponents, whom are having to fend off a relegation battle, have of joining this VIP list if you like of rare sides to have beaten Birmingham at home this season?

Alex McLeish will certainly pinpoint this fixture as one his team should secure all three points in; simply because Birmingham are very strong at home, while their opponents are pretty much useless all around. The small downer is that Birmingham have won just one of their previous four home games, with even that solitary and lonely victory coming against lowly Wolves by virtue of a late Kevin Philip’s double. But, however, along this run are creditable draws with Chelsea, Man Utd & Tottenham Hotspur, and so, if Birmingham can hold their own against those sort of sides, some of the best in the country, then they should surely make mince meat of a Wigan side that were comfortably beaten by Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend.

Wigan Athletic

League Position: 15th

Recent Form: LDDDL

While Birmingham are boasting a strong run of form at home, unbeaten in their last four, Wigan unwillingly have the very opposite in that they can’t buy a win wherever they go and are getting beaten by just about everyone, with even League Two’s very own Notts County getting in on the act this year. Their 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon was their thirteenth defeat of the season, four more than their match day opponents, but add this to the fact Wigan did lose the reverse meeting at The DW stadium and they really look a terrible betting proposition. Surprises do happen though, but you’d have to feel a minor miracle is perhaps required in order to drive Wigan towards their first league win since the middle of January.

Wigan were resoundingly beaten at the weekend when losing 3-0 to Tottenham, although it could have been a different story had Defoe’s first goal been chalked off rightly for off-side. However, the dubious goal stood and that typified Wigan’s season in that everything is going against them right now. To be fair, they rarely threatened Gomes in the Spurs goal and didn’t look as though they would snatch a point in a contest we didn’t fancy them did get much out of if truth be told. That is now the sixth game in a row where the Latics haven’t managed a win, and these pointless games are beginning to drag Wigan closer to the bottom three. 

The strange thing is Wigan might actually appreciate this trip away from The DW as the condition of their DW pitch is terrible due to both themselves and their local Rugby team using the pitch at alternating times. How any side can get the ball down and play football on that farm like ground is beyond me. This Wigan side, whom under the silky Guidance of a Spanish manager who desperately wants his players to play attractive on-the-ground football, will perhaps take to a much better surface at St. Andrews and could actually turn a few heads with a half-decent performance if they apply themselves correctly.

Wigan are a team which play their football completely on the ground, with slick inter-changing and slick through balls. They don’t have the height or aerial experience up front to really make use of the long ball tactic and it was the main reason why they didn’t compete on Saturday as they rarely got a shot in on goal. However, they should take to the St. Andrews surface quite nicely. While it’s not the best footballing surface in the world, it’s a whole lot better than theirs at current and we think Wigan might finally come out to play on Saturday. After all, they’ve scored slightly more goals away from The DW this season, and have won just as many games.

Match Verdict: Birmingham to WIN – 2.00 Bet365

It’s hard to oppose a Birmingham side with plenty of solid home form and momentum, so we haven’t. They don’t give the opposition any time or space on the bal, they force you to make costly mistakes and they punish you in the game defining moments. They’ll get a few chances on Saturday and we’re banking on them taking at least one of them, as, in reality, one goal would probably be enough considering how poor Wigan have been of late. However, the danger is Wigan will be playing on a smoother surface now, with no bumpy pitch of mole hills getting in their way. If they can somehow return to their free-flowing selves then perhaps a surprise could be on the cards. However, their form isn’t great, it’s actually very poor, while the confidence levels of the players must be at an all time low as the relegation looms over them after a six game run without a win, and so preference is for a more consistent Birmingham City.

Match Odds:

Birmingham City – 2.00 Bet365

Draw – 3.40 SkyBet

Wigan Athletic – 4.30 Boylesports

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Birmingham City to WIN by 1 Goal – 3.75 Bet365