Birmingham vs Coventry Prediction: Miserable Blues in big trouble

Birmingham City are bang in trouble. After just one win in their last 10 games, they now sit 23rd in the Championship and are in serious danger of losing their second-tier status. Next up for the Blues is a home game against play-off chasing Coventry City (15:00, Saturday) - in the Sky Blues’ final league game before they face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final. 

Below you can read my Birmingham vs Coventry prediction, featuring team news, match odds and a couple of betting selections.

Team News

Gary Rowett is struggling to solve his Birmingham dilemma at this moment in time.

Siriki Dembélé was left out of the squad against Cardiff but could be recalled here to bring some attacking spark back to the team, while Jay Stansfield is likely to continue up front - even though goals have been in short supply of late. Experienced number nine Lukas Jutkiewicz remains out, but could return for the final two games of the season. 

Coventry were forced to substitute wide man Milan van Ewijk in the defeat to Southampton after he collided with the goalkeeper, but it is thought he was just winded, and taken off as a precaution. Meanwhile, after a leggy first-half display, Robins could be tempted to make a couple of changes.

Victor Torp is a solid midfield option to come in, and Kasey Palmer could return to the XI if he has overcome his slight groin issue. Haji Wright also looks in need of a rest after completing the full 90 mins on the south coast, but options are limited for Mark Robins. 

Match Odds

Birmingham are priced at 2/1 to win this game, with Coventry the favourites at 11/8 - giving them an implied win probability of 42%. A draw can be backed at 12/5, over 2.5 goals is 8/11 and BTTS is 8/13.

Coventry to win @ 11/8

As a Cov fan, it’s only right to feel nervy when facing a team in such dismal form. This is a game the Sky Blues simply have to win if they are going to hunt down Norwich for sixth spot, and anything less than three points will surely end their play-off ambitions. 

As long as they are not distracted by the bright lights of Wembley on the horizon, they should win. Two defeats in their last three doesn’t make great reading, but the second-half performance at Southampton was encouraging, even though the side was 2-0 down by that point. 

This is more of a pick based on how bad Birmingham are at the minute however. They just keep on losing. The Blues have had six defeats in their last seven matches, four of them ending with a 1-0 scoreline. It seems Rowett has been unable to rally the troops and with so many different managers already this term, the players are clearly unhappy. They need to show fight, and may well do so in this local encounter, but Cov possess a lot of quality, and can push them further into the relegation mire. 

Ellis Simms to score @ 9/5

Back again, backing Ellis Simms to score. Why change a bet that has served us so well over the past few months? He failed to score against Southampton last time out, and could probably do with a rest, but that isn’t an option with Matty Godden still out injured. 

He’s looking like a monster of a striker at the minute, bullying defenders left, right and centre. He has scored four in his last four league games, or seven in his last six, and should be able to profit against a Birmingham side clearly lacking confidence. Birmingham’s games tend to be quite tight, but Cov score a lot of goals. Simms can find the net again. 

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