Leeds United dropped down to 5th place in the Championship following their disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Millwall prior to the international break, but they return to their beloved Elland Road for this Saturday’s clash against Birmingham City.
Recent results have again dropped for Leeds United following a blistering start to the new Championship campaign as the hosts head into this encounter with Birmingham City on the back of just 1 win out of their last 4 matches overall in the second tier.
Leeds started the season in positive fashion by winning 4 of their first 5 matches with wins against Bristol City, Wigan Athletic, Brentford and Stoke City along with a draw against Nottingham Forest, but the Yorkshire club have since managed to pick up just 2 further wins from their subsequent 6 matches.
Recent defeats to Charlton Athletic and Millwall were both admittedly away from home, but an earlier 1-0 loss at Elland Road against Swansea City along with a disappointing point in a 1-1 draw with Derby County has underlined Leeds’ failure to be ruthless at home.
The hosts did bounce back with a 1-0 win against Championship leaders, West Brom, last time out on home turf, but with all 5 of Leeds United’s home matches resulting in under 2.5 goals, the goal markets look the best option here.
Birmingham City put an end to a 3-match losing streak in the Championship just before the international break with a welcome three points at St Andrews when they registered a 2-1 win against a disappointing Middlesbrough outfit.
The visitors had made a reasonable start to their new Championship campaign as they’d lost just 2 of their first 7 matches which included wins on the road at Brentford and Charlton Athletic in 1-0 smash-and-grab victories, but a subsequent 3-match losing streak halted The Blues’ progress.
Losses to Preston North End, Derby County and Wigan Athletic resulted in Birmingham City dropping down the league table, but the win against Middlesbrough has steadied the ship as the west midlands club now occupy a mid-table position in the Championship.
Despite their wins at the London clubs, Brentford and Charlton though, Birmingham have struggled on their travels and have lost 4 of their 6 matches on the road, while 3 of their 6 away matches have resulted in under 2.5 goals.
6 of the last 10 meetings between these two sides have resulted in low-scoring affairs, and the international break may just favour another low-scoring encounter at Elland Road on Saturday.