Birmingham vs Cambridge Prediction: Blues to extend their lead at the summit

Birmingham City's FA Cup campaign came to an end on Saturday against Newcastle United, but now they turn their attention to the biggest game of the week. They welcome Cambridge United to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday in League 1 in what is one of their games in hand over promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers and Wrexham.

Cambridge are bottom of the table and have won just one of their past 11 fixtures in the third tier ahead of their trip to the West Midlands. Below you will find my Birmingham vs Cambridge predictions, supported by the latest team news and match odds.

Birmingham vs Cambridge Odds

Birmingham are yet to taste defeat at home in the league this season and they have won five of their last six outings in B9. They are 2/7 to come out on top on Tuesday, but you will find better value in backing them to nil at 9/10 (which has an implied probability of 52.6%), having struck in four of those victories.

Three of their past seven appearances in League 1 have ended in a stalemate, and 9/2 is the price for a draw. Cambridge have won just once on their travels in the third tier and are subsequently priced at 10/1 to pull off an upset.

Both teams have scored in two of the last three matches at St Andrew's in all competitions, and this selection is available at 5/4 on Tuesday. Each of Cambridge's previous five appearances in League 1 have produced goals at both ends, so this could be an enticing selection.

Football Odds

Team News

Birmingham boss Chris Davies is going through an injury crisis in midfield at the moment as Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman have picked up injuries in the past few days. The former had to be stretchered off against Newcastle and the club are waiting to see the extent of the damage.

Tomoki Iwata is the main man in the engine room and unless Paik Seung-ho is available to return to action against Cambridge, Iwata will be in need of a makeshift partner. Krystian Bielik has midfield experience but he has been played as a centre-back for the past 12 months.

Kieran Dowell and Willum Willumsson are more attack-minded midfielders, but one of them might have to play a little deeper to provide Iwata support.

Lyndon Dykes made a cameo at the weekend so he could return to the attack to support Jay Stansfield. Scott Wright and Keshi Anderson were withdrawn early in the second half against Newcastle, so Davies could deploy both wide men on Tuesday.

Cambridge head coach Garry Monk returns to his former club with just one injury concern in Zeno Ibsen Rossi, who has been absent from the last three squads due to injury.

The U's have a clean bill of health other than that, and with just one defeat in their previous five games, Monk could go with a similar XI that has picked up consecutive draws against Wycombe and Lincoln City.

Birmingham to win to nil @ 9/10

This is a huge game for Birmingham because they can really start to pull away from their rivals at the top of the table. They are four points clear of Wycombe in second and eight ahead of Wrexham in third.

A victory here would see them sit comfortably in the automatic promotion places by 11 points, which at this stage of the season would be huge. The game being at home should have them feeling confident because St Andrew's has been a fortress in the league.

Cambridge may be 24th in the table but the Blues cannot underestimate them. Birmingham have already been beaten by Shrewsbury Town this season when they were rooted to the bottom of the table back in November.

That was interestingly their last defeat in the league, though, and they are currently 13 matches unbeaten. The hosts boast the best defensive record in the division with just 19 goals conceded from 27 appearances.

Of those 27 games, 19 have yielded three points and 11 of them have also featured a clean sheet. Six of those have come on home turf and four of those have come during their current unbeaten streak.

Cambridge have only one win on their travels and it's hard to see them collecting a second against the team with the second-best home record in the division.

The Blues are excellent at getting ahead in their fixtures and controlling proceedings with possession. I think they will look for a little more security at the back after conceding in their last two home outings in all competitions, and I think their back line are capable of keeping the U's at bay.

Over 2.5 Birmingham goals @ 11/8

This may be considered a bold selection because there have been just five occasions in League 1 this term in which the Blues have scored three goals. Their ability and habit of controlling matches once they get in front plays into this, while there have been times where chances have not been easy to come by against low blocks, or they haven't been clinical enough when the opportunities do arrive.

After an impressive attacking display against Premier League opposition on Saturday, in which they could have scored more than the two goals they registered, I think Birmingham's attacking players could have some fun against Cambridge in B9.

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