These two Championship sides are quite badly out of form at the moment and so both will see this as a good opportunity to get back on track.
Birmingham may have played fairly well and perhaps deserved a better result on Friday night against Leeds, but the fact remains that they currently lack the necessary steel to collect wins.
As referred to above, Blues have been all over the shop defensively since Gianfranco Zola’s arrival with just two clean sheets in 16 matches. Any time a team gets at the Birmingham back-line, they look like conceding. Birmingham did score on Friday night, and deservedly so, however, they have been guilty of creating few clear cut chances in recent times, despite an increase in shots in the last few months following Zola’s new philosophy.
St. Andrews was a fortress for Birmingham under Gary Rowett with just two defeats this season until his departure. However, with pressure now mounting from the home crowd, Blues have been unable to perform on home turf with just four points taken from a possible 21 in Zola’s tenure.
There had been talk of a revival at Wigan around the new year with three consecutive wins but that has quickly washed away with just one win in all competitions since 21st January. Having said that, they are still just four points from safety with 11 matches to go so survival is certainly possible.
The final third is undoubtedly the Lactics’ main problem and they are the Championship’s lowest scorers with a pathetic 30 goals scored in 35 matches and just one goal scored in their last four. Defensively though they are okay and their record of 41 conceded is even better than a couple of the play-off chasing clubs.
Overall, Warren Joyce’s men have been better on their travels than at their home ground of the DW Stadium with 16 points taken from 18 matches away from home. However, they have still lost three of the last four outside the DW.
Birmingham are the favourites here but, I think the pressure may prove too much for them here so it’s hard to back them with any confidence.
The bet that stands out is ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’. This may seem an odd choice given Wigan’s poor goal-scoring record, however, Birmingham are so woeful at the back at the moment that it would not surprise me if the Lactics scored. Having said that, Zola’s men have looked better going forward in the last couple of weeks and I imagine they will score at home against this relegation-threatened side. Goals are expected all round in this one.
Read more Championship tips here.