Crawley Town vs Birmingham City Prediction

The festive period is here and you know what that means: football galore! On Monday there is an important clash at both ends of the table in League One. Promotion favourites Birmingham City travel to Crawley Town as they aim to pile pressure on the top spot in the league.

Key Stats

• Crawley have just five wins this season and are two points from safety
• They have the third worst goal difference in the league
• Birmingham are just one point off league leaders Wycombe Wanderers, with a game in hand
• They are defensively the second best team in the league

Crawley Town vs Birmingham City Previews, Form and Players to Watch

Crawley were involved in a festive treat for the neutral last weekend, as they were beaten 4-3 by Peterborough. Before this, they were unbeaten in five league matches, although most of them were draws.

Birmingham have won their last four matches in the league, last losing against Shrewsbury back in November. They are yet to lose at home this season, but their away form needs a little bit of work.

Crawley Town Preview

Crawley Town Predicted Lineup - Jojo Wollacott; Toby Mullarkey, Joy Mukena, Charlie Barker; Ade Adeyemo, Panutche Camara, Jeremy Kelly, Max Anderson, Ronan Darcy; Will Swan, Tola Showunmi

Crawley Town were promoted from League Two last season, and they are now struggling in League One with a lack of quality and squad depth. Considering Wrexham’s rise and performances this season, you would be forgiven for thinking that there isn’t much of a step up between the two leagues, but Wrexham’s case is different, as they have the funds behind them to buy all of the players that they want.

Will Swan joined from Mansfield Town in the summer and has so far this season scored four goals and got two assists, which isn’t a bad return for a player in a team struggling like Crawley Town are.

Birmingham City Preview

Birmingham City Predicted Lineup - Ryan Allsop; Lee Buchanan, Ben Davies, Christoph Klarer, Krystian Bielik; Paik Seung-ho, Tomoki Iwata, Willum Willumsson; Jay Stansfield, Alfie May, Keshi Anderson

Birmingham City were relegated last season from the Championship to League One, but have since shown the league that they won’t be sticking around. They are second in the league but with a game in hand over Wycombe who are first, so could reclaim top spot should they win it.

A lot of talk this season has been around Jay Stansfield and how he is too good for the league, but Alfie May has been just as electric in Birmingham’s attack. He has seven goals and four assists this season, in 18 appearances.

Head to Head Stats - Crawley Town vs Birmingham City

These two sides have spent their entire histories apart from each other in the football league structure, with Birmingham near the top and Crawley much lower down. This is the first league meeting between the two clubs, with their only previous meeting happening in the EFL Cup.

8th Aug 2017 - Birmingham City 5-1 Crawley Town - EFL Cup

Betting Tips for Crawley Town vs Birmingham City

Birmingham are by far the better side, but that can be said when they face most teams in this division. Crawley tend to concede a lot, and while their goal scoring isn’t the worst, Birmingham’s defensive solidity means that it will take a lot for them to be broken down.

With all of this in mind, our team of professional experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for Birmingham to Win to Nil. Odds of 29/20 on Parimatch means that a £10 bet could see a potential return of £24.50.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction

Crawley Town 0-2 Birmingham City

Check out our other tips and predictions.