Birmingham vs Fulham Prediction: Stansfield to haunt the Blues

Birmingham City host Fulham at St Andrew's on Tuesday night (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event) in the second round of the Carabao Cup. The Blues nicked a 1-0 victory over Charlton Athletic in the previous round, in which they played some excellent football. 

Fulham have started their Premier League campaign with a defeat and a win, beating Leicester City at home on Saturday. This could be an interesting contest in the West Midlands and you will find my Birmingham vs Fulham prediction below, accompanied by match odds and team news.

Birmingham vs Fulham Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Birmingham vs Fulham page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Birmingham are 4/1 to win this tie inside 90 minutes, giving them a 20% chance of victory. Fulham are priced at 3/5, which gives an away win and implied probability of 62.5%. If you think this tie is destined for penalties, the draw can be backed at 3/1 (25%).

The Blues are 2/1 to win the tie, while the Cottagers are 4/11. Both teams to score is available at 8/13 and over 2.5 goals is valued at 4/7.

Alfie May has started the season with three goals in as many league matches for the hosts, and he is 2/1 to score anytime on Tuesday night.

Football Odds

Team News

Birmingham were set to welcome back defender Dion Sanderson over the weekend at Leyton Orient following his suspension against Wycombe Wanderers, but he is likely to be out for a couple of weeks with an injury.

Fulham loanee Luke Harris is ineligible to face his parent club, while another borrowed star, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, is cup-tied having played for Bristol City in the first round against Coventry City.

Ben Davies is the latest addition to Chris Davies' squad, and he could be handed his debut at the heart of the defence to partner either captain Krystian Bielik or Christoph Klarer. Veteran attacker Lukas Jutkiewicz could be handed his first start of the campaign if Davies decides to rest the prolific May.

Ryan Allsop should return between the sticks having started against the Addicks in round one.

Fulham could hand debuts to Joachim Andersen and Sander Berge at St Andrew's after joining the club last week. Shot-stopper Steven Benda might come into the side for Bernd Leno.

Boss Marco Silva has a choice to make in attack between Raul Jimenez and Jay Stansfield, who had a very productive loan spell at Birmingham last term, scoring 12 goals in the Championship.

The Blues have been persistently trying to sign him permanently over the summer, so it will be interesting to see what role he does or doesn't have on Tuesday.

Draw or Fulham and over 2.5 goals @ 19/20

Given that the visitors are an established Premier League side with some top-class talent, they are rightly the favourites here. But they are going to be in for a tough battle away from home against a revitalised Birmingham who have started the season strongly with their new brand of football under Davies.

Silva has already made a note of how much of a challenge this could be, so I think that is worth considering when looking to bet on this match. Having been picked up for Sky Sports coverage (with all the trimmings) on Main Event, the broadcaster must also be thinking that a shock could be on the cards.

The Blues are unbeaten this season and going further back into 2023/24, they haven't lost in their last eight matches in all competitions. Supporters are getting used to their new possession-based style and while there are teething issues, they are still getting results.

Fulham will be their toughest challenge to date, but on home soil, they may just fancy their chances to pull off an upset. Then again, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Cottagers' quality shine through and send them through to the third round with relative ease.

Birmingham are confident, for the first time in a long time, so a draw to take the tie to penalties cannot be out of the question. I have included over 2.5 goals to this double chance selection because it has landed in the hosts' last two matches, as well as in Fulham's 2-1 win over Leicester City last time out.

Jay Stansfield anytime goalscorer @ 6/4

If Stansfield is in the squad for his St Andrew's return, I think the script has already been written for him to score. It won't be the first time he will have scored against the Blues in the Carabao Cup, having already managed that feat at the same stage in 2021, with the Cottagers winning 2-0.

How many times in football do we see the former player, or loanee in this case, come back to haunt their old side? Too many. Whether he starts or comes on from the bench, Stansfield will have an impact in the final third, that several of Blues' squad members who played with him last year will know all too well about.

I think there is value to be had in him to score at any time.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

Tuesday (27/08): Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any EFL Cup game on Tuesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Wednesday.

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