Friday Night football comes to St. Andrews as Birmingham are host to Sheffield United to kick off this weekend’s Sky Bet Championship action. Both sides come into this fixture having not lost in 3 games, Birmingham have drawn their last 2 and won the previous game whereas as inform Sheffield United come into this one on the back of 2 wins and a draw.
A big blow was dealt to Sheffield United last time out against Peterborough as Rhian Brewster was forced off in the 22nd minute due to a hamstring injury and looks to face a relatively long recovery period meaning he is unavailable for this fixture along with Morgan Gibbs-White. Troy Deeney and Taylor Richards are still injured for the Blue’s too, so they won’t be available for selection.
I have put together my 4 favourite selections for this game, which is coming in at around 12.55, take a look at my research below along with a pre-match Cheat Sheet.
Birmingham v Sheffield United Bet Builder Tips & Predictions
Both Teams to Score
As I mentioned before, both teams come into this fixture on the back of decent form albeit Sheffield’s slightly better and I think the 3 point could go either way in this one. Lee Bowyer will no doubt still be frustrated at his side shipping 2 late goals at Derby last weekend which resulted in the points being shared deep into stoppage time and will be looking for a response as they return to St. Andrews.
The away side come to Birmingham after putting in two good displays with 2-0 victories in their previous 2 games. Sheffield United sit just 6 points off of a playoff spot and will look to reduce the gap on Friday.
Birmingham can’t stop shipping goals at the moment, having conceded in their last 5 games. In these 5 however they have only lost 1 game, winning 1 and drawing 4. Both teams have scored in 8/10 of Birmingham’s previous Championship matches and I think this will happen again in this one. Birmingham clearly have problems at the back with the number of goals they concede. However, this doesn’t stop them scoring as they have scored 2 goals in each of their last 4 matches making them an exciting watch for the neutral.
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Prediction: Both Teams to Score
Gary Gardner to be booked
Gary Gardner loves to get stuck in for the Blues in the middle of the park, hence why he has 6 bookings in 20 appearances this season. It will be another feisty battle in the midfield up against Norwood, other potential opponents include Jayden Bogle and with Rhian Brewster injured, could see the likes of McGoldrick or Oli McBurnie coming in to replace him, with all of them having a good average number of fouls drawn which can be seen in my Cheat Sheet below. I think Gardner will have his work cut out for him in the midfield and the frustration could kick in against this inform Sheffield United side which could land the Englishman a booking.
Gardner’s Cheat sheet stats look good too as he averages 1.45 fouls per game and has picked up 6 yellows so far this season, including being booked in his previous 2 matches. He’s predicted to start, and I’m predicting him to be booked at odds of 2.6 on Paddy Power.
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Prediction: Gary Gardner to be booked
Billy Sharp to have 1+ Shot on Target
Sheffield United’s top scorer Billy Sharp is the next player we look at in this bet builder, the striker has managed to bag himself 8 goals so far this season. Although his strike partner is out due to injury, he is more than capable of finding the target on his own. Sharp’s Cheat Sheet stats make for good reading too with the Englishman topping the charts for shots on target, averaging 1.1 per game.
Billy Sharp managed to hit the target twice last time out and I fancy him to do the same again. Despite being 35 he definitely still knows where the goal is and will be the main threat going forward without Brewster. Sharp is a lifelong Blades fan and with his current contract expiring he will look to prove he is worth a contract extension to stay at his boyhood club.
Billy sharp’s strike against Peterborough made him the top goal scorer in Championship history and the striker will only look to add to that. It is currently 1.53 for Sharp to have a shot on target on Paddy Power.
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Prediction: Billy Sharp to have 1+ Shot on Target
Lyle Taylor to have 1+ Shot on Target
The final selection of the bet builder looks to Birmingham’s attack, Lyle Taylor made an instant impact since signing on loan from Nottingham Forrest, scoring 2 goals on his debut against Derby County last weekend which should see him retain his place in the Birmingham starting line-up, especially with Troy Deeney still unavailable.
Taylor admitted that he is enjoying his football since moving away from Forrest and hopes to make a difference at Birmingham while on loan until the end of the season. The move sees Taylor reunite with Lee Bowyer and he will be keen to cement his place in attack.
Despite only playing 1 game for Birmingham since signing last week, he looked dangerous in attack which can be seen from his Cheat Sheet stats below and I fancy him to put in another good performance.
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Prediction: Lyle Taylor to have 1+ Shot on Target
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets *
Birmingham v Sheffield United Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Birmingham v Sheffield United in the English Championship
📅 When is Birmingham v Sheffield United? / Friday, 4 February 2022, 19:45
🏟 Where is Birmingham v Sheffield United? / St. Andrews (Birmingham)
📺 What TV Channel is Birmingham v Sheffield United on? / Sky Sports Main Events
