Birmingham v Leeds

Birmingham vs Leeds Preview

Birmingham City picked up what could prove to be a useful point in last weekend's opening game in the Championship against Swansea City who are building a reputation for playing stylish, attacking football, so The Blues will have been satisfied with that result in Wales.

Birmingham City manager, John Eustace, was also impressed but having now managed to win just once in their previous eight games overall in the English second tier, Eustace will be demanding all three points in this opening home game of the season against Leeds United.

The straight win markets though look very perilous indeed especially as The Blues also slipped to losses against Sunderland, Blackpool, Coventry City and Sheffield United towards the end of last season and will be up against a former Premier League team this Saturday.

The goals market (or rather lack of them), look to be favourable here though as seven out of Birmingham City's last 10 home games have resulted in Under 2.5 goals being scored with Birmingham contributing to this low-scoring tally by way of failing to score in four of these matches.

Leeds United will also be fairly confident about their chances in the west midlands this Saturday as the Yorkshire club produced an impressive comeback against Cardiff City last weekend, drawing 2-2 with The Bluebirds after being 2-0 down.

Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke, will have been pleased with his side as they showed plenty of character to get back on level terms with their Welsh opponents and he'll be looking for more of the same at St Andrews on Saturday afternoon.

Farke has been tasked with the job of lifting Leeds United back into the Premier League at the first time of asking but the goals conceded against Cardiff City suggest this will be no easy assignment in what is considered to be one of the toughest and most competitive leagues in the world.

The visitors will be keen to improve upon a poor sequence of results which have resulted in Leeds picking up just two wins out of their last 14 matches in all competitions, picking up just two wins in the process - both of these actually being registered in pre-season friendlies against Nottingham Forest and Hearts, but also succumbing to nine defeats as well.

Birmingham City v Leeds United Verdict

It's almost four years since Birmingham City and Leeds United shared a total of nine goals between them in what ended up being a wild and entertaining 5-4 win for Leeds United at St Andrews.

However, a repeat of this scoreline looks highly unlikely as four of the previous six meetings between these two clubs have resulted in Under 2.5 goals and a tight battle may well unfold this time on Saturday at St Andrews.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 2.00

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.60

Correct score: 1-1 @ 7.00