Birmingham vs Watford Prediction: Relegation scrap handled Cleverley

A seismic clash with major implications on the Championship’s relegation battle? Yes please. That’s what we have to look forward to as Birmingham host Watford at St Andrews on Saturday afternoon, with the home side sitting just one point above the relegation zone. It’s set to be a tense end to the season in the second city, but they could drag Watford back into it, after the Hornets sacked Valerien Ismael following a home defeat to Coventry City last time out. 

Here’s our Birmingham vs Watford prediction, featuring a couple of tips for you to consider. 

Team News

Ethan Laird and Andre Dozzell both came into the team for Birmingham’s 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough, but Mark Venus may make changes to his lacklustre attack. Lukas Jutkiewicz could be handed a start with Jay Stansfield out of form, while importantly Dion Sanderson is available to play after his three-match suspension. Alfie Chang and Krystian Bielik remain absent through injury.

It’s difficult to know exactly what Tom Cleverley will do for his first game in the dugout. Big number nine Mileta Rajovic may be given a start, while Emmanual Dennis is surely going to be key to them escaping the drop. Giorgi Chakvetadze looked incredibly bright against Coventry despite defeat, but it feels like changes are needed at the back. Ryan Porteus and Wesley Hoedt both lack pace, and it has caused them problems over the past two months.

Match Odds

Birmingham are priced at 11/8 to win this, with Watford 7/4 to take all three points. A draw can be backed at 11/5, BTTS is 8/13 and over 2.5 goals is 4/5.

Under 2.5 goals @ 10/11

Birmingham have now lost their last two outings 1-0, and under 2.5 goals has been successful in each of their last three games. They are failing to create anything, and failing to score goals, something that will seriously worry Venus. Stansfield’s form has dropped off, which is expected for a young player, but it doesn’t look like they can find goals from anywhere else. 

The home side’s defence is fine, without being spectacular and it means we should get a tight game here. When you consider how much is riding on this, we could see nerves from both, and Watford have scored more than once in any of their last five. I’m expecting a low-scoring affair in the midlands. 

Watford to win @ 7/4

“We had a total lack of quality” Mark Venus said after Birmingham’s midweek defeat to Middlesbrough. That was a brutal assessment of what his players delivered, but bang on. They’ve been so poor of late, and with a relatively short turnaround time here, I can’t see them improving massively before they take on Watford. 

Meanwhile, the Hornets have the benefit of a new manager bounce. Ismael simply wasn’t getting results and so they turn to Cleverley, a man who knows this club so well. He is going to bring fresh ideas, but more importantly bring a sense of new belief to a squad that is more than good enough to stay in this division. This is a great price for an away win. 

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.