Birmingham vs Middlesbrough Predictions

• At least three goals have been scored in six of Birmingham City’s last eight home league matches.
• At least three goals have been scored in four of the last five Middlesbrough away league games.
• Birmingham City have conceded at least two goals in five of their last eight home league contests.

Goals should be on cards at St Andrew’s

Two sides that both played out 0-0 draws on Saturday meet at St Andrew’s on Tuesday, but there ought to be enough chances created to see a few goals in this clash between Birmingham City and Middlesbrough.

The Blues were uninspiring in their home draw against Hull City with manager Lee Bowyer admitting that his side’s more technical players all had an off day. Chris Wilder was proud of his side’s characterful display at Millwall as a response to their 4-1 defeat at Sheffield United a few days before.

It’s getting to the point where Boro can ill afford any more dropped points if they are to realise their playoff objective. Wilder’s team have been nowhere near good enough on their travels of late as a record of two draws and four defeats from their last six road trips illustrates.

Blues’ defensive record does not inspire confidence

This is a match they should be looking to dominate from the first whistle as Birmingham are in a bit of a rut at the moment. City haven’t achieved an xG of greater than one in their last three league games, although they have managed to score twice in that span.

Defensively, the home side have been exposed far too often with six of the last nine away sides that visited St Andrew’s having scored at least two goals. Whether Boro can do that remains to be seen, but it’s well worth noting that both of these teams have seen a majority of recent games finish with at least three goals. Six of Birmingham City’s last eight home league matches have featured three or more goals while at least three strikes have been registered in four of the last five Middlesbrough away league games.

That makes the ‘overs’ price of around evens look like a good piece of value and validates our main bet recommendation. We’re also taking a punt on Boro breaking their six-game away winless run with a 2-1 correct score play here that is based mainly on Birmingham’s patchy defensive record.