Competition: Championship
Market: Goal to be scored in both halves
Odds: 8/11 @ BetUS
In a showdown between two historic rivals on Wednesday night, West Brom will welcome Birmingham to The Hawthorns.
Starting with the hosts, while West Brom might have entered November’s international break with a much-welcomed 2-1 victory at home against Oxford, it appears that was just a minor boost for the Baggies. Suffering a dramatic second-half collapse away at runaway leaders Coventry over the weekend as they eventually marked their return from the fortnight interval with a 3-2 defeat, it appears that Ryan Mason could already find some increasing pressure on his shoulders. Still scrapping it out in the bottom-half of the table, the former Tottenham coach has seen his downbeat squad register just four points from any of their previous six Championship appearances. Registering just a single clean sheet since the start of October, West Brom have also drastically failed to find any kind of stability on home soil. Watching their EFL Cup adventure come to a disappointing end at the hands of Derby back on August 12th, Mason’s men have recorded just a pair of wins from any of their last seven showdowns at The Hawthorns across all formats – a run that stems back to the opening weekend.
As for the visitors, while Birmingham might have entered November’s international break with a 2-1 loss away at Middlesbrough, the Blues certainly came roaring back in some style over the weekend. Last seen putting in a dominant display as they cruised their way to a 4-1 victory against Norwich, Chris Davies’ men could be smelling the chance to make another statement here. Although Wednesday’s guests might have only made their Championship return this season, Birmingham have their sights set on mounting a genuine play-off charge this time around. Getting November underway with consecutive 4-0 romps against Portsmouth and Millwall, Davies’ side open the midweek fixtures sat just a single point adrift of finding a route into the top-six. Winning three of their previous four Championship showdowns, the Blues have also found a recent clinical edge in the final third. It should also be highlighted, registering 24 second-tier goals so far this season, only one club outside of the play-off places has notched more Championship strikes.
Bet: Goal to be scored in both halves at West Brom vs Birmingham City 8/11 for Wednesday’s Championship matchup @ BetUS