Birmingham City will look to continue their red-hot Championship form when they host promotion rivals Hull City on Tuesday night.
Blues (7/1 Championship Winner @
BetVictor) have emerged as serious title contenders since the start of 2012, winning five of their seven league outings to extend their unbeaten streak to nine games . They head into the midweek games five points behind second-placed Southampton and six behind leaders West Ham, meaning an immediate return to the Premier League is a strong possibility (7/4 Promotion @
bet365).
It is no surprise to see Birmingham City being made 10/11 favourites to win this match at BetVictor, but Hull City will be no pushovers, having put themselves in the play-off places with a four-game unbeaten run. Under the stewardship of local boy Nicky Barmby, the Tigers have become a hard team to beat. They have kept clean sheets in their last four league games and have not conceded more than one goal in a game since losing to Burnley in late November, meaning Birmingham City will have to be clinical in this one or Hull City could be heading back to East Yorkshire with something from this game (Match Odds – Hull 18/5, Draw 9/4 @
bwin).
If Hull City (6/1 Promotion @
Blue Square) take all three points they will be the first team to leave St Andrews with the spoils this season. Chris Hughton’s men have been excellent at home, winning 10 of their 15 matches in front of their own supporters, and that form is the main reason they are now hot on the heels of West Ham and Southampton.
Looking at their home form it is hard to look past Birmingham City in this match, and their impressive defensive record in recent weeks supports going for a home win. Blues have kept clean sheets in six of their last seven games in all competitions, while Hull City’s 3-0 win over Bristol City was only the second time they have scored more than one goal in their last 10 outings (Both Teams To Score – No 5/6 @
StanJames).
Recommended Bet
Birmingham City To Win To Nil – 21/10 @
SkyBet