Sports Blog 17/08/2017: Championship Preview – Burton Albion vs Birmingham City, Friday 18th August 2017

Can Burton Albion – the only Championship side without a point – pick up a result when they host Birmingham on Friday night?

The Brewers barely avoided the drop last season, finishing in 20th place but just one point above the relegated Blackburn. If early signs are correct, however, they might not be so lucky this time around. Admittedly Burton haven’t had the easiest start to the season. A very narrow loss to Cardiff City in their opening game – all thanks to an 87th minute strike from Kenneth Zohore – then led to back-to-back fixtures against Hull and Middlesbrough, two of the Premier League’s 2016/17 rejects.



Nigel – son of Brian – Clough’s side initially held out against the former, Jackson Irvine equalising around the half hour mark after Abel Hernandez had given Hull an early lead. However in the second half Burton capitulated. A goal just after the break from Jamil Grosicki and a completed hat-trick from Hernandez saw the Brewers come away from the KCOM Stadium with a 4-1 defeat, the worst result, for any side, of the season so far.

Tuesday’s trip to Boro was only a tad better, with a brace from Britt Assombalonga, and a late red card for Hope Akpan, making for a pretty miserable evening. It should come as no surprise, then, that Burton sit at the very bottom of Spreadex’s Championship Points Index, their 44-46 spread leaving them firmly in the relegation battle.

While Birmingham – who required 3 managers to finish just a point above Burton last year – haven’t been quite as bad as their Friday hosts, their start to the season has been far from flawless. An opening loss against Ipswich Town wasn’t exactly the fresh start City would have wanted, and though they followed that up with a 2-1 win over Bristol, Tuesday’s goalless draw against League One runners-up Bolton punctured the hopes of a pick-up in form.

Still, to put it simply, they’re not doing as badly as Burton, meaning Harry Redknapp’s side just about have the advantage heading into Friday night, with Spreadex offering a Birmingham/Burton (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.2-2.4.