English Premier
2009-12-15 - Birmingham City vs Blackburn Rovers
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
Football: England, Premier League
Tuesday, 15th November 2009 - Kickoff 20:00
Birmingham C (8th) Home : 4-2-2 6:4
Birmingham City are in fine form now with four wins in a row to rocket up the table to 8th spot with a brand of hard-fought football.
A good label for Birmingham City this season is competitive, only ONE league game all season has been decided by margin of more than a single goal. City's games are always close it seems.
Goals are a bit hard to come by at St Andrews this season, with just 10 of them in the first eight games (6:4 GD) and it's worth having a look at the scorelines with 3 x 1-0 home wins, and 2 x 0-0 draws.
Birmingham City Team News :
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has no new fitness concerns and is likely to name the same team that beat West Ham.
David Murphy, Garry O'Connor, Martin Taylor and Teemu Tainio remain long-term injury absentees.
Blackburn R (12th) Away : 1-1-6 5:21
Blackburn Rovers are finding it tough to win games away from home, in fact they're finding it tough to score goals, with Rovers hitting 4 blanks in their last six road games.
Three successive 0-0 draws tells you a lot about the way manager Sam Allardyce has Blackburn Rovers playing these days, tough to beat, but unlikely to score themselves.
The draw against Hull at the KC Stadium on Saturday wasn't pretty and although they did look better a week earlier in the 0-0 vs Liverpool at Ewood Park - that may have been because I was rating Liverpool too highly?
So although it looks like Rovers have been shipping plenty of goals, (with 21 conceded in 8 away games), it appears that Allardyce has been working hard to plug those gaps recently.
Blackburn Rovers Team News :
Blackburn top scorer David Dunn is still struggling with the calf injury he picked up last month and is set to miss out against his former club.
Rovers are also likely to be without midfielder Vince Grella, who hurt his thigh in Saturday's draw at Hull.
The Betting Verdict
It goes without saying that this one will be tight, competitive, and hard-fought, but a look at those season records and recent form suggest that Birmingham City have the ability to edge this game.
I make a fair price for the home win as around 5/6, and so the best price of 13/10 certainly appeals. It's no banker but it is a good bet.
I looked at the Over/Under 2.5 goals, but the bookmakers have protected the unders, which is priced around 4/6, and that's not a price worth chasing.
But, I am also going to have a correct score play of Birmingham City to win 1-0, yes despite the over-rounds normally favouring the bookmaker heavily in exact score bets, because I'm taking it at at bet365 where they refund ALL losing correct score bets if the game finishes 0-0.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Birmingham City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take BIRMINGHAM CITY to win.And a small bet on the exact scoreline of Birmingham City 1-0 at bet365 at 7.00 (6/1)
