- Swansea have won four, drawn three and lost three of their last 10 games in all competitions.
- Birmingham have won eight and drawn two of their last 10 in all competitions, including a run of five consecutive wins.
- Birmingham are unbeaten in their last five away trips in all competitions (W3, D2).
Swansea can have a go, but Blues could nick it
Birmingham City will arrive at Swansea.com Stadium for Saturday's EFL Cup clash with the wind in their sails after winning five straight, but they should be wary of Swansea's capacity to cause them problems.
The Blues are flying at the moment, but Swansea have come good against Charlton Athletic and Udinese after three defeats in a row.
Vítor Matos has the Swans trying to dominate possession and suffocate teams with a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 shape, which features high pressing and wide overloads. Chris Davies has set Birmingham up in a compact 4-4-2 with a narrow block, a sharp trigger for pressing and the ability to transition quickly to hit on the break.
This fixture is a clash of opposites in terms of tactics, with the home side wanting to control the tempo and the visitors aiming to nick it, turn it over and punish second balls. Birmingham are the slight favourites at 33/25 compared to 19/10 for Swansea and 12/5 for the draw, which seems reasonable given the head-to-head history between these sides in the Championship and their relative forms.
Blues can hold their own on the road
Birmingham have won two and drawn three of the last five meetings between the clubs in the second tier, so we will not be taking Swansea to beat them here or even to take control of the match.
The Swans have won just two of their six home games in all competitions (D1, L3), while Birmingham are 5 games unbeaten on the road, winning three and drawing two. The match could be close and may come down to who makes the fewest mistakes, but the visitors are strong enough to hold their own and the way to play it is to back both teams to score & under 2.5 goals at 13/20 and 19/20 respectively.
The last meeting was 1-1 in Wales six months ago in the same division, so these clubs know each other well and there should be little to separate them. However, Birmingham's form, away steel and five-match unbeaten away run make them the likeliest side to edge it or at least avoid defeat.
