Birmingham City welcome fellow strugglers Watford to St Andrew’s in a potentially pivotal Championship clash. For each side, this short match has huge ramifications on the rest of their season. Birmingham City aims to build on their recent home success, while Watford seeks to continue their unbeaten run.
In fact, it has been tough going for Birmingham City historically, as the Bluenoses have lost 10 of their last 12 league matches against the Hornets. Birmingham are winless in their last seven league encounters against Watford. The club hasn’t recorded anything but a last-minute equalizer, with six losses continuing to pile up in disappointing fashion. The Blues have been better than ever, especially as of late, winning three-straight at home and scoring in droves.
Now managed by Javi Gracia, Watford appear to be just a few feet from glory. The Hornets are red hot, not having lost in their past six games. The win on Friday night would launch them into second place in league standings!
Birmingham City’s Home Strength
Birmingham City have done a complete 180 with their fortunes at home over the past few weeks. They’ve won each of their last three home matches, with a tendency to score in bunches and late-game heroics on full display this season. Sky Sports’ Gary Weaver remarked on Birmingham’s recent turnaround, highlighting how quickly they’ve turned things around after a rough October.
“Birmingham’s draw against West Brom was a good point considering they were not at their best. The transformation in their form generally has been swift. When they faced Wrexham at the end of October, Davies was under scrutiny… Those days feel distant now. Birmingham are winning games, scoring goals and thriving at home.” – Gary Weaver, Sky Sports
Gary Rowett, the manager of Birmingham City, will want to make sure that he takes full advantage of this home draw when they take on Watford. Yet recent performances show this team is starting to build confidence and coming together again as a cohesive unit on the pitch.
Watford’s Unbeaten Streak
Watford come into the match in excellent form, having not lost any of their last six adventures. With Javi Gracia at the helm, Leeds have been a scrappy, get-it-done bunch if there ever was one. And victory at home to Birmingham next week would see them climb to second in the league table – if only on goal difference.
Looking at the Hornets’ recent games, it seems like they’re slowly rediscovering their groove after struggling through the first third of the season. Their attacking play has come on leaps and bounds thanks to the likes of Sorba Thomas, who’s played a huge part. Thomas has been instrumental with 11 goal contributions in just 17 league games, highlighting his importance to the team’s success.
“Stoke returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Charlton, helped by two crossed goals from Sorba Thomas. Thomas is in sublime form…” –
Watford’s players will now be hoping to ride this wave of momentum against one of the club’s all-time bogey sides.
Hull City’s Struggles
On Saturday, Hull City welcomes Birmingham City. Like the Yankees, they will be out to recover after a disastrous week saw them lose to QPR and Ipswich Town. The Tigers have slipped out of the top six and are grappling with injuries and suspensions that have hampered their performance.
Yet, their defensive struggles are apparent. Heading into midweek, they had the worst expected goals against (xG) in the entire league. With key players such as Oli McBurnie and Liam Millar missing recently, Hull City must find a way to shore up their defense if they want to compete effectively.
“For Hull, it has been a tough week… Injuries and suspensions have not helped.” –
Manager Liam Rosenior still believes that the returning players can bring much-needed success to the club.
Ipswich Town is looking to add to their fantastic start to the season. Kieran McKenna’s side has continued to grow in confidence and quality since the first international break in September and is now one of the division’s toughest tests. Their away performances have been historically good. On the road, they’re riding a three-match winning streak, scoring 10 goals while giving up just two on the counter.
“Kieran McKenna believes his Ipswich side has been coming together since the first international break in September… Ipswich are certainly doing that.” –
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