These two teams were looking to make the play-offs at the start of the season but now it is only visitors Leeds that have a realistic chance of fulfilling that aim.
Last Friday night’s derby against Wolverhampton Wanderers looked to be the injection that Birmingham City needed as they put their run of thee straight losses behind them to record a 2-1 victory in a fiery affair. These precious points boosted Blues up to 14th in the table but they are still a huge 15 points off the top six and one swallow (the win against Wolves in this case) does not make a summer.
New manager Gianfranco Zola has attempted to bring a more attacking style to Birmingham and, after putting in a good display against Wolves, the players should now have more confidence in the new system. They had a good defensive record under previous manager Gary Rowett but that has now vanished with just two clean sheets in 15 matches since his dismissal.
Birmingham’s last home match saw them put in one of their worst performances in recent years as they went down 4-1 to Queens Park Rangers. Zola’s only other win came at home against Fulham and they failed to build on that. Surely the Blues players can react properly this time after their win against Wolves.
Leeds had a bit of a rocky spell at the start of February with two straight losses, however, they have now recovered to go unbeaten in their last three, winning two of them which keeps them in the play-off places with an eight point cushion.
Garry Monk’s side have been good in both boxes this season with 46 scored and 34 conceded in 34 league matches. These two statistics are the second-best of the four teams currently occupying the play-off spots. Having said that, Leeds have kept just one clean sheet in their last six in all competitions.
Away form has been quite dodgy of late for the Whites recently with just one win in their last five away matches in all competitions. Additionally, Leeds have not kept a clean sheet on their travels in their last 12 games, a run stretching all the way back to late October.
It will be interesting to see how Birmingham do after that great result at Wolves but they face a Leeds side with play-off ambitions so both teams have huge pros and cons going into this match, making it hard to call. Neither are looking strong at the back right now which makes ‘Both Teams to Score’, which can be had at 19/20, look a good bet.
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