Wrexham vs Birmingham City: Prediction, Championship betting tips & team news

Birmingham City will be hoping they can take advantage of playing before anyone else to move into the top six with a win over Wrexham on Friday night (8pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

Both of these sides were promoted from League One in May, with Blues winning the league with 111 points, while Wrexham finished second with 92, and betting sites had priced them up as promotion contenders once again, given the financial backing both clubs receive.

Birmingham have made the better start to life back in the second tier with Chris Davies’ side currently sitting 11th in the Championship, albeit they’ve won one of the last five matches - against Swansea City.

However, the most disappointing result of their recent run may have been Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday, when they surrendered the lead.

Jay Stansfield fired them ahead with his fourth goal of the season, but Jamal Lowe and George Brown both struck for the visitors, and it needed a goal in added time from Demarai Gray to make sure of the point.

The Welsh side have also found life hard in the Championship and have so far picked up just nine points from their opening eight games despite spending big on experienced players such as Kieffer Moore, Conor Coady, Nathan Broadhead and Ben Sheaf.

They are yet to win in the Championship at home in three attempts, being held to draws by Sheffield Wednesday and Derby at the Racecourse Ground, while they were beaten 3-1 by West Brom in the other match.

This is the first time Phil Parkinson’s side have been playing at this level since the 1981/82 season, and the former Bradford City and Hull manager has overseen three promotions in the last three seasons.

This was always going to be the biggest step up, but a draw with Leicester last time out and the fact that they have scored in every league game will give them confidence heading into a clash where the respective owners are arguably more famous than the teams themselves.

Birmingham, who were last in the Premier League back in 2010/11, are fourth favourites for promotion when it comes to the Championship promotion odds, behind Ipswich, Coventry, Middlesbrough and Southampton, while you can get 20/1 on Wrexham making another step up the pyramid.

Last season was the first time the two sides have been in the same division since the 1994/95 season, when they were in the old Division Two.

The pair have only met 11 times before, and it is Blues who have the edge, with six wins to Wrexham’s two, while the other three meetings have ended all square.

Last season’s meeting at the Racecourse ended all square when Lyndon Dykes cancelled out Oliver Rathbone’s early opener. This came after Birmingham took all three points at home with a 3-1 win, despite ending the game with 10 men after defender Krystian Bielik was sent off.

Nine of the 11 meetings have seen both teams scoring, and over 3.5 goals have been scored in four of the last five matches.

Football betting sites are offering 3/1 on four or more goals being scored once more on what’s set to be an entertaining Friday night in north Wales.

Wrexham vs Birmingham City prediction 1: Over 2.5 goals - 11/10 Unibet

After winning seven straight away league matches between April and August, Birmingham have lost their last three on the road without scoring a single goal.

A defeat on Friday would see them lose four in a row without scoring for the first time since October 2013, a run which also came in the Championship.

A win at home has to come at some point for Wrexham, and the fact they have scored 21 goals in all competitions and are the joint third highest scorers in the Championship behind Coventry and Bristol City means Blues' defence is in for a tough night.

Wrexham vs Birmingham City prediction 2: Wrexham to win - 2/1 Bet365

Wrexham: The Dragons are still without Liberato Cacace, Ollie Rathbone and goalkeeper Danny Ward through injury, but Broadhead will hope that his goal against Leicester is enough to earn him a starting place.

Birmingham: Jack Robinson is back from a one-match ban, and he could come back in in place of Eiran Cashin. Lewis Koumas and Lyndon Dykes will both be hoping for a recall after starting on the bench on Tuesday.

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