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Championship: Birmingham a brilliant bet to win Wolves derby

| 31.10.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Holly Thackeray | October 29, 2015

Birmingham City v Wolverhampton Wanderers

  • Championship
  • Saturday, October 29th
  • Kick-off: 12:30 GMT
  • St Andrew’s, Birmingham
  • Live on Sky Sports 1

Blues belief and consistency key

Soccer - Sky Bet Championship - Hull City v Birmingham City - KC Stadium
Birmingham City boss Gary Rowett blew out the candles on 12 months in charge recently and, a year on from the former defender’s Blues dugout bow against Wolverhampton Wanderers, he faces an acid test of progress against those same West Midlands foes.

On his debut, the Championship club drew 0-0 in stalemate at the Molineux and customers can back this duel to end evenly again at nifty 9/4 odds from Coral.

Yet, since then Rowett has propelled his second city team to sixth in the standings and just one point behind third spot Burnley, meaning there are whisperings of play-off places or even automatic promotion around St Andrew’s.

What a difference 12 months can make, as mid-table Wolves were the ones chasing a ticket to the top-tier last term, and Rowett himself recently acknowledged just how the tables have turned.

The Blues boss told press: “Wolves on Saturday, We drew with them a year ago and you could see they were a much better side than us. Later in the season we beat them 2-1 at St Andrew’s.

“We have been consistent for 12 months now and people can’t say it’s a flash in the pan or just the first 10 games of the new manager. Our challenge is can we stay there? Consistency is crucial in this division,” added the 46-year-old.

St Andrew’s advantage

Soccer - Sky Bet Championship - Hull City v Birmingham City - KC Stadium
As Birmingham had the better of their guests last season on St Andrew’s soil, and have lost just one of their last six West Midlands derbies as hosts, they are worth backing at 13/8 for all three points.

Homegrown hero Demarai Gray grabbed the winner in the previous meeting, and is great value at 3/1 in the anytime market. While, second city sharpshooter Clayton Donaldson and Arsenal-owned midfield conductor Jon Toral are 5/1 and 7/1 to score first and last respectively.

Even backline marshal Paul Robinson has shown a nose for goal lately, with two in his last three outings, so is also excellent at 9/1 to net anytime.

Wolves off pace in West Midlands race

Soccer - Sky Bet Championship - Wolverhampton Wanderers v  Leeds United - Molineux Stadium
The Molineaux men’s decline to midtable has been emphatic. So, with Wolves sitting in 14th place and having lost three Championship tussles on the trot, including conceding nine in those games, the visitors are outsiders at 17/10 to triumph.

Having lost Bakary Sako during the off-season, Benik Afobe (6/5 to notch anytime) and Adam Le Fondre (7/4) are their best shouts to bag on the road.

Relevant

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Coral’s top tip: Back Birmingham @ 13/8 to beat Wolves

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Author

Holly Thackeray

Holly is a member of the content team, and can often be found on the sports desk writing about favourite topics Serie A and East Asian footballing nations. A recent darts convert, she is also a fully-fledged member of Barney's Army and a proud Leeds-born Manchester United fan.