The EFL Championship is becoming one of the most exciting leagues in the 2022–23 season. The teams are separated from each other by a small margin of points. Burnley comfortably leads at the top of the table and are followed by Sheffield United. Sheffield United are seven points ahead of Watford, currently sitting in third place. The Blades have a 22-point advantage over Wigan Athletic, who are currently sitting at the bottom of the table. The 22 teams below these two teams are separated by only 15 points. There is a lot of fighting going on between the teams. Birmingham City are one of the teams that have recently shown a drop in form. They are the most out-of-form team in the current scenario, having suffered five consecutive losses. The team was ranked in the middle of the table, but with this streak of poor results, they are just sitting above the relegation zone. We now look at some of the stats of the last five matches that show what has led to the struggles for the team.
Birmingham City are currently ranked 19th in the league table. The Blues have won eight, lost 12, and drawn eight matches this season. Of these 12 losses, five came in the last five matches. The team has scored 30 goals with an average xG rate of 1.13, and the defence has conceded five goals with an average xGA rate of 1.35. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the team in comparison to other teams in the EFL Championship. It can be observed that the team is ranked poorly in the attacking and possession departments. They have a good percentile rank in the pressing department. Birmingham City have looked like a decent team in the Championship.
The struggles in the attack
The primary reason behind this poor run of form is their attacking form in the attack. Birmingham City lost 3-0 to Burnley. This was followed by a 1-0 loss against Hull City and a 3-1 loss against Middlesbrough. In the next match against Bristol City, the Blues suffered a 4-2 defeat. Their recent match ended 2-1 in favour of Preston. This means that in the last five matches, Birmingham City have scored four goals and conceded 13 in total. The above viz shows the shot map of the team in the last five matches. Overall, Birmingham City averages 9.54 shots per match and have an accuracy rate of 31%. In the last five matches, the average has gone down to 8.25 shots, and the accuracy rate is around 30.95%.
Against Burnley, the team was struggling to create chances. Birmingham City players were able to take two shots and both were off-target. Their xG rate was as low as 0.09 in that particular match. Birmingham had already played to a 1-1 draw against Burnley in their previous meeting. They attempted 14 shots in that match, and two were on target. This time, they were unable to create enough chances and failed miserably in the match.
Weakness in defence
Before the match against Burnley, Birmingham City conceded 23 goals in 23 games. In the last five matches, the team conceded 13 with an average rate of over two goals per match. The players have won their duels in the match, but they have allowed the opposition some easy goal-scoring chances. The xGA rate against Bristol City was 2.3, and it was also high at 2.08 against Boro and 1.72 against Hull City. The above viz shows that the team has also committed a few fouls in the defensive third as well.
Betting Analysis
Looking at the current form of the team, the odds for 1×2 bets saw an increase in the odds rate for Birmingham City. Their recent form made them the least favourite to win the match. As for the over/under goals, the over rate saw an increase in the rate due to Birmingham City’s struggles in the attack.
John Eustace will be unhappy with the display shown by his team on the field. The team is struggling to create chances and is also failing to score goals. The defence has also been a bit leaky. They will look to turn back their fortunes otherwise the gap between them and the relegation zone could deplete.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
