Eng. Championship
2011-08-21 - Middlesbrough vs Birmingham City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Championship
Sunday 21 August 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
Middlesbrough
Tony Mowbray came into Middlesbrough last season with the goal of getting the side back into the Premier League, but he didn't really have a chance to overcome the bad start the side made under Gordan Strachan and they finished in mid-table. This season Boro have made a better start and the fans are hopeful of a big year.
Middlesbrough have the chance to move up to 3rd in the table with a win after picking up 7 points in their opening 3 games in the League. They have only played 1 game at the Riverside this season, but come in to the match in good heart following 3 successive wins on their travels.
They drew 2-2 with Portsmouth on the opening day, but they held the lead on 2 occasions and were only prevented from having a 100% record by a injury time equaliser in that game. Wins at Leeds and Barnsley in back to back games will give the team confidence while Marvin Emnes is in good form by scoring 6 goals in the first 4 games.
Faris Haroun is in the squad after signing on Thursday. Justin Hoyte is out, but Tony McMahon has returned from suspension.
Birmingham City
Birmingham City might be a team in the Championship, but they come into this game following a Europa League tie and now must regain focus on the priority which is the League after all. There has been a lot of upheaval at the club over the Summer and the Championship is a tough Division so it is hard to tell what exactly Chris Hughton expects from his side.
The Blues are in 18th place in the Championship, but European commitments mean they have only played 2 games compared with the 4 that many other teams have already got through. They have picked up 1 win and 1 loss so far this season, with the win coming at home and the loss on the opening day of the season.
They lost 2-1 at Derby County on the opening day at Pride Park, but must have been disappointed having taken the lead in that game. They then beat struggling Coventry at home and earned a decent looking 0-0 draw at Nacional on Thursday night in the Europa League.
Cameron Jerome, Marlon King and Nikola Zigic are all out and that does lead to concerns as to where the goals will come from. Keith Fahey, Scott Dann and Morgaro Gomis are all carrying knocks and will need to pass fitness tests.
Head to Head
This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2007/08 season when both won their home games as Premier League teams.
Middlesbrough have hosted Birmingham 5 times in the last decade, and they have won all 5 games.
Overall, Middlesbrough have won 6 and Birmingham have won 4 of the last 10 games against one another.
Prediction
The absences of Marlon King, Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic does have me wondering if Birmingham have enough goals to get a result here against a Middlesbrough team that have an in-form player in Marvin Emnes.
Tony Mowbray's team were impressive in overturning a 1-0 deficit at Barnsley into a 1-3 win and they have had a few more days to prepare for this game than Birmingham who were in action on Thursday.
The prices on the home win look to be fairly reasonable considering they were about a minute away from winning all their games this season, and I think they are up against a team that has done a bit of travelling over the last couple of days and looks a little light up front.
At odds against, I think Middlesbrough are worth chancing.
The Pick :
Middlesbrough 1-0 Birmingham City
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Middlesbrough @ 2.10
