Birmingham v Middlesbrough: Boro to edge out Blues

Boro boss Tony Mowbray

Andy Tongue expects a tight battle at St Andrew's but thinks the visitors may nick it after the break...

Birmingham vs Middlesbrough
Friday 30th November: 19:45GMT
LIVE on Sky Sports 1

Birmingham

Now with just one win in six, and that at home to lowly Bristol City, the alarm bells will be starting to ring around St Andrew's. Their last five defeats have all been by a single goal, which shows how close this league is once again, but at the moment it's not quite happening for Lee Clark's men. Tuesday's 1-1 draw at Blackpool did at least stop a run of two consecutive defeats but the Blues will be desperate to pick up three points on Friday and start to climb away from the group of sides that is beginning to form beneath them at the foot of the table.

Middlesbrough

Boro bounced back from that shock defeat at home to Bristol City with an impressive 3-0 win over Huddersfield, which underlined their credentials as promotion contenders this season. Although their best form has come at home, away from the Riverside they have lost as many as they've won (four each) with just the one draw, confidence should be high among Tony Mowbray's troops. However, we know from experience that the Championship is the most difficult of leagues to call with everybody capable of beating everyone on any given day.

Under/Over 2.5 Goals

All the above suggests this is likely to be another close contest and Birmingham have managed just nine goals at home and seem to gain little advantage from playing in front of their home crowd at the moment. They are likely to try and keep things tight, while Boro are not exactly prolific away from home themselves. Take away the four goals they scored at Charlton recently and they have seven from eight games so Under 2.5 Goals looks a solid bet at 2.1211/10.

Half-Time/Full-Time

Clearly on current form the visitors are the better side and it may pay to back them to show their superiority after the interval, especially as Birmingham had a tough game at Bloomfield Road on a heavy pitch on Tuesday night. Boro, in contrast, had their game wrapped up by the 66th minute and could come on strong in the latter stages at St Andrew's. Draw/Boro can be backed at 7.06/1 in the half-time/full-time market which certainly makes some appeal.

Recommended Bets

Back Under 2.5 Goals at 2.1211/10
Back Draw HT/Boro FT at 7.06/1