English Premier
2010-12-12 - Wolverhampton vs Birmingham City
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : England : Premier League
Sunday 12th December 2010 – Kickoff 1.30pm
This Sunday sees another Midlands derby, this time it’s the Yam Yams versus The Blues – let me translate; Wolves v Birmingham City, at the Molineux and not quite high noon either.
Birmingham City make the short trip into the Black Country and will be keen to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.
Wolves (19th)
Wolves will be eager to re-address the balance between these two sides, as Birmingham City have lost just once to their counterparts in their last ten meetings, and Blues winning the last three.
Wolves have experienced a bit of a roller-coaster ride at home so far with mixed results; wins over Stoke City 2-1, Manchester City 2-1 & Sunderland 3-2 have been amongst defeats by midlands rivals Aston Villa 1-2, Arsenal 0-2 & Bolton Wanderers 2-3.
Subsequently, their home form reflects their inconsistency; 3-2-3 12/13, but a win over Birmingham today could lift them out of the bottom three.
Striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (4 goals) is their leading scorer, with ex-Burnley hit-man Steven Fletcher (3 goals) has also chipped in. Fellow forward Kevin Doyle (1 goal, 3 assists) is also very dangerous and will need to be closely marked. It’s a similar story as with the visitors that Wolves struggle to score goals.
Birmingham City (14th)
Birmingham City are the Premier League's draw specialists along with Fulham (joint top draw merchants with 9 apiece), and will make the short trip buoyed by the fact that they last lost at Molineux back in 2001.
However, City are still yet to record an away win this season, and may have to wait a couple of more weeks for this as with midlands derbies, you never quite know what to expect.
The Blues away record stands at 0-5-3 9/13 and if they are to prolong their Premiership status, they need to start converting their draws into wins – both home & away.
As mentioned earlier, it’s a similar story for Birmingham as their leading scorer, Craig Gardner (4 goals) is a midfielder and really should be pressed by the forwards for this mantle. Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell (both 3 goals) have also chipped in, with Seb Larsson providing 4 assists.
Birmingham City are a team however, that tend to perform at their best when going a goal down which is a very risky trait to have, particularly when peddling your trade in the Premiership.
Midfielders Aleksander Hleb and James McFadden will again miss out through injury.
The Betting Verdict :
Despite it being a midlands derby, I still expect Birmingham City to have enough about them to gain at least a draw, perhaps sneak a narrow victory.
The Statistics :
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BEST BETTING TIP :
Side Bet: Going out on a limb here, but Ridgewell has a tendency to score in crucial matches – Liam Ridgewell to score anytime @ 12.00 with bet365 looks worth a shot.
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Main Pick: Take Birmingham City AH 0, +0.5 at decent odds of 1.85 with bet365 appears to cover all bases.
