Fulham V Birmingham City Betting: Sunday, 21st Febryary

Fulham V Birmingham City

Saturday, 20^th February – 12:45 GMT (Sky Sports 1)

Fulham

League Position: 10th

Recent Form: LLWDW

Fulham gave their form a much needed boost with victory over Notts County in the FA Cup on Sunday. Despite a nervy start from The Cottagers, Fulham eventually ran out comfortable and worthy winners in a 4-0 victory which sent them in the quarter-finals where Tottenham Hotspur or Bolton lay in waiting. However, it’s back to the Premiership now for Fulham and they will aim to build upon a three match unbeaten run, a run which is beginning to overshadow what was a dreadful month of January.  

Fulham are once again building up ahead of steam in the league and will go about reinforcing their top ten status on Saturday when they seek out their fourth win in five games, this does include their weekend success in the FA Cup. Two of those were in the league though, with victories coming against Portsmouth (1-0) and Burnley (2-0), both were to NIL but they were also both at Craven Cottage, a stadium which has been a happy hunting ground for them but a graveyard for some of the leagues biggest teams.

We think just about every Fulham fan has come to terms with the fact that Fulham aren’t the best away side in the division and that the vast majority of their points this season will and have come at home, at a fairly small Craven Cottage. However, this cosy little cottage of theirs hasn’t seen too many home defeats this season, just the three in fact, and to hear that Fulham have lost just once in ten home outings is an outstanding achievement for a club which was so regularly battling to avoid relegation previous campaigns. It also goes to show just how far Roy Hodgeson has taken this Fulham side in such a short space of time.

As far as this fixture goes, against what is a resilient Birmingham City, Fulham do have solid claims for the win but will have to work mighty hard to earn all three points. Their opponents are a stubborn side which tend not to give away cheap goals. Much like Fulham at home in fairness. However, we would give Fulham the edge simply because they can be a match for anyone on their day when at Craven Cottage, and the proof is in the pudding with victories over Liverpool, Manchester United & Everton this season.

Birmingham City

League Position: 8th

Recent Form: DLDWL 

We briefly praised Roy Hodgeson for his efforts but it’s nothing in comparison to the job Alex McLeish has done with a budgeted Birmingham side, guiding them into the upper tier of the Premiership table. Just to hear that Birmingham are two places above Fulham in the table would make any Birmingham fan proud but defeat for McLeish & Co on Saturday would seem them fall below their match day opponents and possibly lye in 10^th position for the remainder of the week, which I’m sure Birmingham fans could live with but it’s something they’d like to avoid at all costs.

We’ve been praising Birmingham for their work rate and effort for months now but the cracks are starting to appear and their immense middle part of the season could be just as well as the chinks in their armour start to show. Since relinquishing their unbeaten status of fifteen games without defeat, twelve in the league, Birmingham have won just one of three, Winning 1, Drawing 1 and Losing 1. While this may not appear at all bad, nor concerning, that one draw really should have been a defeat while their latest display was that of a well below par side when they lost 2-0 at West Ham United. A team struggling near the foot of the table.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re far from panicking. It’s just that now they’ve lost all their momentum, their confidence appears to have sapped right out of them and they don’t appear to have this winning edge to them any more. However, one thing we will credit them on is their never-give-up attitude, one which has earned them valuable points in recent fixtures alone. They had to search within for a second wind in their two most recent home games with Tottenham Hotspur & Wolves. The former seen Birmingham nod home an injury time equaliser to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first since in well over four months, while the latter seen them claw back a one goal deficit to win a game they probably didn’t deserve to win 2-1.

The dampener, though, was their defeat at Upton Park and we aren’t quite sure how Birmingham will respond to that defeat. However, they did answer with a win at Derby County on Saturday, albeit pulling off another comeback when coming from a goal down to win once again by a 2-1 scoreline. However, while all these fight backs look good on paper and do bring your group of players closer together, there will come a time when going a goal down will result in game over and this really could be the case at Craven Cottage. Fulham have yet to drop any points from a winning position at home this season, which just spells out the importance of not conceding the first goal if you’re a Birmingham fan.

Match Verdict: Fulham to WIN – 2.15 bWin

These two teams could quite easily cancel each other out as they both have similar qualities in that they’re both extremely solid outfits, reliable in defence and clinical in attack. Mistakes don’t often crop up in either sides play but we feel home advantage will separate the two on Saturday. Fulham boast one of the strongest home records in England and will take some beating in front of their home fans. The only negative points from their end if their Europa League clash on Thursday night and whether Hodgeson puts out a strong side. Then again, Fulham should still be equipped and fit enough to handle a home fixture and we quite fancy their chances of winning their fourth home fixture on the bounce and sending Birmingham to their first set of back-to-back defeats since October.

Match Odds:

Fulham – 2.15 bWin

Draw – 3.30 Bet365

Birmingham City – 3.75 SkyBet

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Fulham to be winning at Half-Time – 2.90 SportingBet