Birmingham City Vs Sunderland Betting – Saturday 24th October

Kick-off: 15:00 GMT

Venue: St. Andrews

Birmingham City

League Position: 17th

Recent Form: LWLLL

We were big fans of Birmingham City after their opening few showings but they have since gone on to massively disappoint both us and their loyal fans. Since the start of the season Birmingham have accumulated just seven points from a maximum of 27. That’s an abysmal tally even for them and they are now level on points with Hull City, a team who occupy the last of three relegation spots, with only Birmingham’s superior goal difference keeping them above water.

Birmingham’s form heading into this clash isn’t great, in fact, it’s pretty close to pathetic. A 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday stretched their losing streak to three games. The defeat also means that City have lost four of their last five league fixtures, with the victory away at Hull City their only positive result in a long time. They are falling down the table at an alarming rate and before lone they could be well in the relegation mixer, a defeat at home to Sunderland would almost certainly see them slip into the bottom three.

For all the relegation candidates their home form will be pivotal in how their fare this season and Birmingham’s is extremely poor. They started promisingly with a win over Portsmouth (1-0) and a draw with Stoke City (0-0), but then it turned sour with defeat to both Aston Villa (0-1) & Bolton Wanderers (1-2) the latter a very poor result indeed.

Not only have they now lost two home games on the trot but they’ve also seriously struggled in the goalscoring department and it’s not too hard to understand why. Kevin Philips is their only real recognised striker and that’s only because of his stint at Sunderland, while their big summer signing, Christian Benitez, has yet to find his feet at St. Andrews. Alex McLeish has seen his side score just six goals in nine games, just two of those actually coming at home, with Birmingham failing to score at home twice already.

Birmingham’s blunt forward line makes them a terrible bet it would seem but they still have a nifty defence, one that has conceded just 3 goals at home thus far. However, scoring is what football is all about and Birmingham simply can’t do that right now. Sunderland, however, have had no problems in that department and Birmingham’s normally lean defence may have their work cut out if they are to earn Birmingham some of the spoils here.

Sunderland

League Position: 7th

Recent Form: WLWDW

Steve Bruce has made an instant impact since his arrival at the Sunderland helm over the summer and some of his signings during the summer months appear to be a master-stroke. Darren Bent was signed for little over £10 Million and he scored his seventh of the campaign, albeit via a fortunate deflection off a Liverpool beach ball but, nevertheless, the former England international has hit a rich vein of form under Steve Bruce and his manager will be expecting more of the same as Steve Bruce returns to familiar terrain in Birmingham’s St. Andrews stadium.

Lee Cattermole was another recruited by Steve Bruce and his capture has proved arguably more crucial then the Bent signing, which is some statement to make. The Sunderland midfield now looks a lot solid with Cattermole’s presence and his performance against Liverpool, amongst other solid displays this season, has helped his side register some valuable points. He isn’t scared to stick his body in where it gets hurt, he duly gets stuck in and his ability to break up opposing attacks is second to none. He is already proving a stunning aquistion and Steve Bruce will need another big performance from the former Wigan man at St. Andrews.

Back-to-back fixtures with Manchester United & Liverpool would have scared the living daylights out of some teams but not Sunderland, not under the new attacking regime under Brucey. To grind out four points from those fixtures is an amazing achievement and by doing so Sunderland have shown the rest of the league that they mean business this term and that they have no intention of just simply rolling over whenever the big boys come a calling.

The 1-0 victory over Liverpool was their fifth win of the season and they have now gone on a three match unbeaten run, hardly frightening form but, considering the stature of their recent opponents, that’s a confidence building run. However, although Sunderland’s performances of late have been impressive, away from home is where their problems have come to light. The Black Cats have just one point in three away outings, that coming away at Man Utd, but defeats away at Burnley and Stoke may dent the Sunderland punting express.

Sunderland appear to be a tad uncomfortable whenever they go travelling but their team performance in their most recent away encounter at Old Trafford maybe a sign of things to come. However, we said something similar after they beat Bolton at The Reebok on the opening day of the season and they went on to lose back-to-back away games so maybe there is a pattern forming here.

Form wise, Sunderland look a stunning bet, but we just can’t back them with any real confidence, which is strange and bizarre considering Sunderland’s recent stunning display at home to Liverpool.

Head-to-Head:

Birmingham City W: 4 Sunderland W: 1 Draws: 1

These two haven’t played each other on a consistent basis in recent years but it’s Birmingham who have prospered whenever the two have come together. The pair did play out a 2-2 draw back in 2007 but Birmingham had previously won the previous two meetings at St. Andrews, with Sunderland having never beaten Birmingham away from home in the Premiership.

Match Verdict:- DRAW – 3.4 SkyBet

Sunderland’s display and result over Liverpool last Saturday will have many punters ticking their box in this weekend’s coupon but they have a wicked inconsistent nature, one that has put us off any potential punt on Steve Bruce’s improving Black Cats side. This is a decent opportunity for Alex McLeish and Birmingham to put some points on the board and they must seize this opportunity. Both side will want all three points but come the end we reckon the pair would settle for a share of the spoils.

Match Odds:

Birmingham City – 2.9 Bet365

Draw – 3.4 SkyBet

Sunderland – 2.55 Expekt.com

SoccerBetting Value Tip: 1-1 Correct Score – 7.0 SkyBet