1
bet365 Square Logo

Birmingham vs Brentford Predictions

  • 11:30
  • Expired
  • St Andrews
Birmingham
Brentford
  • Sky Sports Main Event

Under 2.5 Match Goals

20/23odds when tipped
  • Bookie
  • Bet Tip
  • Sign Up
£18.00
BET HERE$200

Brentford 1-0

13/2odds when tipped
  • Bookie
  • Bet Tip
  • Sign Up
£70.00
BET HERE$200

Birmingham vs Brentford Predictions

  • Birmingham lost six of their final seven matches last season
  • The Blues have scored only four goals in seven meetings with Brentford
  • Five of the last six meetings between these two have seen under 2.5 goals
  • Brentford saw under 2.5 goals in 52% of last season away games, including five of the first six

Can Brentford go again?

Brentford were 90 minutes from the Premier League on three occasions last season, but they passed up the chance to gain promotion. Now Thomas Frank has to get them through another difficult Championship campaign, which won’t be easy for the Bees.

The fact that it starts against Birmingham only rubs salt into the wounds for the visitors, as the five points they dropped against a poor Blues side last term would have gone a long way to getting them Premier League football. Can the hosts grind out another result and frustrate Brentford this weekend?

Blues look to pick themsleves up

Birmingham also have to recover after their finish to last season, which saw them lose six of their final seven matches. The Blues have responded to that by turning to Aitor Karanka, who can make teams defensively solid. While Karanka isn’t the man for the long-term at this level, he should reduce the number of goals the hosts concede. However, he’s also likely to reduce the number they score.

The Blues haven’t got much outside of Lukas Jutkiewicz, with a large number of teenagers up front and an uncreative central midfield line-up. They’ll struggle to break down a Brentford side who have the strongest defence in the division on paper, while the Blues have historically struggled in this clash. Birmingham have won just one of their last seven league encounters with Brentford (W1 D3 L3), scoring just four goals and never more than once in a game. Meanwhile, five of the last six clashes between them have seen under 2.5 goals. For us, that contributes to a low scoring clash in our predictions.

How will Brentford look?

Thomas Frank deserves a lot of credit for his work on the Brentford defence. The Bees look tough to break down, while they might need that more this season. Their front three last season scored 59 times, but Watkins scored 25 of those. Said Benrahma hit another 17, but early last season he struggled with transfer interest surrounding him. That’s intensified this year, so we don’t expect much of an impact from the Algerian if he even starts.

While we don’t doubt that the Bees will rack up goals over the course of the season, last year they started by scoring only twice in five games. When you add in the playoff final blow and the loss of Watkins we think Brentford may come up a little short going forward in the opener. That was cetainly the case in their meeting with Wycombe in the EFL Cup, which saw them draw 1-1 with the Championship relegation favourites.

Last season they saw 52% of their away trips finish with under 2.5 goals scored, including five of their first six. With Birmingham looking tighter at the back and more conservative up top, under 2.5 goals in our first prediction.

Birmingham pulled off a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw against Brentford last season, but we don’t think they can pull the same surprise in this one. After seeing the Blues lose six of their final seven Championship games and after a 1-0 EFL Cup loss to Cambridge, we’re backing a 1-0 away win as our correct score prediction.

Featured Matches

See All

Today's Tips

See All