Birmingham vs Middlesbrough Prediction: Boro to heap misery on Blues

Birmingham City are hovering just above the relegation zone, and their crucial game in hand comes at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday night (19:45). It’s a huge game for the Blues, who are without a win in four games and now sit just one point above the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Boro have won their last two and are still in with an outside shot of making it into the top six, as they did last season.

Below you can find our Birmingham vs Middlesbrough prediction, featuring team news, match odds and two betting selections for you to consider. 

Team News

Birmingham made five changes in their 1-0 defeat to Millwall last time out, and Mark Venus could ring the changes again, with a load of options on the bench. Lukas Jutkiewicz, Siriki Dembele, Tyler Roberts and Ethan Laird could all come back in as the home side look to drag themselves away from danger. However, they remain without Alfie Chang and Krystian Bielik through injury, while key defender Dion Sanderson will serve the final game of his three-match suspension.

Boro have a whole host of injury issues of their own, with Hayden Hackney, Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan, Dael Fry, Josh Coburn, and Alex Bangura all missing the weekend win over QPR. They are likely to all miss out again here.

Match Odds

Birmingham are priced at 7/4, with Boro 6/4 to take all three points. A draw is available at 5/2, BTTS is 4/7 and over 2.5 goals is 8/11. 

Middlesbrough to win @ 6/4

This is a fairly simple one for me and I’m more than happy to back Boro at this price. Birmingham have seriously struggled since Tony Mowbray temporarily left his role due to ill health. They’ve now picked up just one point in their last four games and worryingly, they have now conceded devastating late goals against Southampton and Millwall.

Japhet Tanganga’s 90th-minute winner was seismic for both clubs in the relegation battle. For Birmingham, it dragged them closer to danger and confidence is beginning to wane. They should be able to stay up with favourable fixtures, but this isn’t one of them.

Boro have beaten two in-form teams on the trot, in Norwich and QPR. They’ve found their feet in front of goal and now their strikers are producing, with Lewis O’Brien and Jonny Howson a terrific duo in midfield. Michael Carrick’s men should have enough to secure another three points.

Emmanuel Latte Lath to score first @ 6/1

One man who has returned from injury with a bang has been Ivorian striker Latte Lath. In his first season in English football he has now found the net seven times, but he’s scored two in his last two appearances and is Boro’s key man in front of goal.

His mixture of pace and power make him a handful for any defender, while his finishing ability is improving with every game he plays. With Birmingham’s lack of solidity meaning they haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last five games, Latte Lath can take full advantage.

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.