Our prediction for this Championship match:
Riverside Stadium will host Saturday’s football game between Middlesbrough and Birmingham City, the two teams who have found their forms of late. Middlesbrough are eyeing their fifth consecutive league win and their performance in a 4-0 win over Sunderland is surely fuelling fans with optimism ahead of the visit of Birmingham City. Midfielder Lewis O’Brien misses out with an ankle problem, but he should be the only absentee in the home team.
Meanwhile, the Blues aim to build on back-to-back wins over Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion. Birmingham City, though, are not regarded as good travellers and given their three-game losing run on the road, we believe that there is a big value in betting on Michael Carrick’s troops. All Lee Buchanan, Keshi Anderson, Ethan Laird, George Hall, and Tyler Roberts are out of contention through injuries, speaking of the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Paddy McNair):
Following in the footsteps of his compatriot Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair joined the Manchester United academy in 2011 and he was surprisingly handed first team debut by Louis van Gaal at the start of the 2014/2015 season.
Despite his fragile age, the talented central defender has been putting in some very mature performances ever since, and everything suggests he could go on to become an important player at Old Trafford in years to come. After representing a number of youth sides, McNair made his first appearance for the Northern Ireland senior national team in a March 2015 friendly vs Scotland, before making another three outings as his side secured their place at the Euro 2016 finals.
Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill surprisingly played McNair in holding midfield in the March 2016 friendly vs Wales. After the youngster impressed in the middle of the park, O’Neill went on to suggest that the Manchester United starlet may be used in midfield rather than defence in years to come in the national team.
Highlighted Team (Birmingham City):
Birmingham City are a club located in the city of Birmingham, England. Birmingham City were founded in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, but the club’s named was changed to Small Heath in 1888. 17 years later they became Birmingham and in 1943 they finally changed their name to Birmingham City.
The Blues welcome their rivals at St. Andrew’s, the stadium that was opened in 1906. Birmingham City compete in the Championship and their fiercest rivals are WBA and Aston Villa. The Blues made it to the FA Cup final twice, but they have yet to win the prestigious trophy. In 1931 they were beaten by their local rivals WBA in the title game (1-2), whilst in 1956 they were outplayed by Manchester City in the title game.
The colour of Birmingham’s home kit is blue with white stripe. Trevor Francis, Gil Merrick, Bob Latchford, Jeff Hall, Alex Govan, Joe Bradford and Christophe Dugarry are notable footballers who played for the St. Andrew’s outfit in the past.