West Bromwich Albion vs Birmingham Predictions

• West Brom have won seven of the last ten head-to-head meetings of the clubs.
• Birmingham have lost two of their last three away league games.
• Birmingham have failed to score in three of their four Championship away games this term.

Blues having nightmares away from home

Birmingham’s away day blues could haunt them again when they make the trip along the M4 for Wednesday’s midweek derby against West Bromwich Albion. John Eustace’s side managed to earn their first away win of the season at Preston last time out, but they were not particularly convincing and only managed it because North End are also pretty blunt up front.

Birmingham’s lack of a goal threat away from home is illustrated by their woeful cumulative xG which puts them in the bottom four of the division – exactly where they are in the current standings. West Brom have conceded in three of their four Hawthorns contests this season, but only two clubs have a better xG against figure from home games.

And it’s not just from open play where the Blues seem to be having a nightmare scoring goals – they remain one of a handful of Championship clubs yet to score from a set-play situation.

A Baggies’ win to nil has merit

Given both of those factors, risking a win to nil bet at around 5/4 instead of a straight win bet at less than 1/2 here should be the way to go. The Baggies have won seven of their last ten clashes with the Blues so clearly don’t get overawed by the derby atmosphere.

Steve Bruce’s men are regularly finding the net now and seem to have a belief that the game is never lost until the final whistle goes – illustrated by Brandon Thomas-Asante’s late leveller against Burnley earlier this month.

A 2-0 Albion win is forecast for correct score backers as WBA have scored nine goals in their last four league games, averaging 2.25 goals per game across the last month. Birmingham have been blanked in half of their Championship contests, including three of their four on the road.