Birmingham City - Southampton predictions and free betting tips [02/03/2024]

In a clash for the second spot, Southampton heads to St Andrew's to lock horns with Birmingham City. Last weekend, the Blues predictably lost to Ipswich, while the Saints were surprisingly beaten by Millwall.

Birmingham City

Birmingham failed to secure their first victory under the stewardship of Mark Venus, with Ipswich predictably proving stronger. It's hard to say how much the loss of Tony Mowbray on the touchline will prove telling, but against such a formidable opponent his experience would have been invaluable. George Hall, Alfie Chang and Alex Pritchard are all long-term injuries and will be unable to contribute.

Southampton

Following a record-breaking unbeaten run of 25 matches, the Saints are decidedly shaky. While the loss to Hull can be explained, the home defeat to Millwall was downright nightmarish. Russel Martin has instilled a good style of play based on ball possession, but breaking down parked buses is proving to be a challenge. Furthermore, the team still can't handle counter-attacks. Ryan Fraser is sidelined for about a month, but James Bree is back in action.

Match prediction for Birmingham City - Southampton

We've recently seen that the Saints struggle against teams that defend in numbers or press well. Birmingham doesn't really fit into either category. Hence, Southampton should be tasting victory once again, or else risk Leeds and Ipswich pulling further ahead.