Birmingham City’s pattern of results continued last Saturday when they suffered a 4-2 defeat away at Cardiff City which followed previous back-to-back wins for The Blues against Blackburn Rovers and Luton Town.
Having now lost their last 4 away matches on the trot, Birmingham will no doubt be keen to return to their familiar surroundings of St Andrews this Saturday when they play host to Fulham against whom they’ve beaten in 4 of the last 6 meetings.
This includes beating The Cottagers in the last two meetings on the trot at St Andrews, and with a solid home record which has seen Birmingham City win 5 of their last 6 matches on home turf in the Championship.
Victories over Barnsley, Stoke City, Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers and Luton Town have helped maintain Birmingham’s mid-table position in the second tier, while the bigger picture shows that The Blues have lost just 1 out of their last 11 matches at St Andrews.
Fulham dropped down to 8th place in the Championship following their surprise 3-0 defeat at home to Hull City last weekend, and they now face a tricky trip to the west midlands this Saturday afternoon as they look to break down a solid Birmingham unit in their own backyard.
Fulham have managed to register just 1 win out of their last 5 matches overall in the Championship which was a 3-2 home win against London rivals, Luton Town, but recent defeats to Stoke City and Hull City have prevented Scott Parker’s side from breaking into the play-off pack.
Overall, it’s been a fairly reasonable start to the new Championship campaign for Fulham who occupy 8th place but are just 2 points adrift of 6th placed Bristol City prior to this weekend’s action, but results away from home have held Fulham back somewhat in their quest to become serious contenders for promotion.
The visitors have registered just 2 wins out of their first 7 matches away from home which were gained at Huddersfield Town and Reading, but draws at Cardiff City, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough along with losses at Barnsley and Stoke City perhaps hand the initiative to Birmingham City in this clash.
Birmingham City are a hard team to beat at St Andrews and having had the better of Fulham in recent exchanges, the hosts should at least avoid defeat here and can be backed with the double chance option.