Birmingham City vs Leicester City Prediction and Betting Tips | December 18th 2023
Birmingham City will entertain league leaders Leicester City at St. Andrew's in the EFL Championship on Monday.
The hosts returned to winning ways after three games, as Juninho Bacuna's goal helped them register a 1-0 away win over Cardiff City on Wednesday. They moved to 17th place in the league standings following that win.
The visitors made it three wins on the trot on Wednesday, registering a hard-fought 3-2 win over Millwall. Jannik Vestergaard, Ricardo Pereira, and Patson Daka scored in the second half to help the Foxes to their 17th win of the campaign.
They remained at the top of the league standings with that victory. Second-placed Ipswich Town dropped points against Norwich City on Saturday, thus, Leicester can open up a three-point lead at the top with a win in this match.
Birmingham City vs Leicester City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off 135 times in all competitions thus far, with their first official meeting dating back to 1891 in the FA Cup. These games have been contested closely with the visitors having a narrow 58-51 lead in wins over their western rivals and 26 games ending in draws.
- They will meet for the first time since crossing paths in the FA Cup fifth round in 2020, in which the visitors recorded a 1-0 win.
- The visitors are unbeaten in their last six meetings against the hosts, recording four wins.
- Birmingham City have suffered just one defeat at home in the Championship this season. Five of their seven wins in the competition have come at home this term.
- Leicester City are unbeaten in their five games since the resumption of league action after the international break, recording four wins.
Birmingham City vs Leicester City Prediction
The Blues have just two wins in their last 10 league outings, suffering six defeats. They returned to winning ways after three games in their midweek clash against Cardiff City and will look to build on that form in this match. Interestingly, they have just one win in their last 10 home meetings against the visitors.
George Hall, Ethan Laird, Kevin Long, Keshi Anderson, Tyler Roberts, and Alfie Chang are confirmed absentees for head coach Wayne Rooney while Cody Drameh is a doubt.
The Foxes head into the match on a three-game winning run, scoring nine goals while shipping in three goals. They have lost just once in away games this season, conceding eight goals in 10 games.
Enzo Maresca remains without the services of Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, Kasey McAteer, and Yunus Akgun. Marc Albrighton and Harry Souttar have knocks and will undergo late fitness tests.
The visitors have seen an upturn in form recently, recording three wins in a row. Birmingham have lost just once at home this season and will look to build on that form here.
Nonetheless, considering the visitors' recent goalscoring form and better record in recent meetings against the home team, we back them to register a comfortable win.
Prediction: Birmingham City 1-3 Leicester City
Birmingham City vs Leicester City Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Leicester City to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to score or assist any time - Yes