Match details:

Birmingham vs Swansea
Date: 03rd April 2021
Time: 12:30 am IST
Venue: St Andrews Trillion Trophy Stadium (Birmingham)
Competition: Championship

Preview:

In this fixture, we will see 3rd placed Swansea host Birmingham who are 21st in the table. Last time in action Swansea played Welsh rivals Cardiff City & had a 0-1 loss at home. Swansea kept more of the ball as got away as many as 23 shots but only 1 was on target. Cardiff looked to play with a middle block which didnt leave room for Swansea attackers to breakthrough. Lack of Creativity from Swansea kept them goalless while on the other hand, Cardiff parked the bus & broke quickly on the counter to cause the majority of trouble.  Meanwhile, Birmingham played Watford & ended with a 0-3 loss on the road. Watford quickly got up to speed as attacked with lethality. They created direct chances, got in from the wings & threatened from set-pieces while Birmingham defence came up short every time. It took a while for the travellers to get into the rhythm of things but Watford’s Robust defending kept them out.

Key Stats & Info:

• Birmingham has been putting out consistently poor performances as they have a win, a draw & 3 losses in the last 5 games.

• Swansea has been experiencing a drop in form as they are with 2 wins, a draw & a loss in their last 5 games.

• Swansea are undefeated in their last 7 matches against Birmingham in all competitions.

Probable starting XI:

Birmingham:

Etheridge (GK), H. Dean, M. Colin, M. Roberts, K. Pedersen, Sanchez, Sunjic, A. Halilovic, R. Harper, L. Jutkiewicz, S. Hogan.

Swansea:

Woodman (GK), K. Naughton, R. Bennett, J. Bidwell, C. Roberts, M. Guehi, Dhanda, J. Fulton, M. Grimes, Lowe, M. Whittaker.

Key players:

Connor Roberts (SWA): The 25-year-old Wales national rejoined Swansea in the 2017/18 season from Middlesbrough. He typically plays as RM with his dedicated role being DMR or RB. He is an excellent ball carrier & doesnt lose it while going forward, he regularly contests challenges & comes out on top. His long-range balls are quite accurate, he averages 1.1 accurate crosses, 2.1 long balls & 1.4 chipped passes per game. His ability to pick out free players lets him thread key passes, he averages 2.1 per game of the same. His tally for the season stands at 4 goals & 5 assists in the Championship. Connor’s contributions were quite significant against Cardiff as he made 5 key passes & made 7 accurate long passes.

Jamal Lowe (SWA): A Fresh signing for Swansea is the 26-year-old English attacker whom they landed from Wigan. He slots in as a centre forward as well but when required he is able to adapt to other roles as well. He is a typical anchor play style of forward and he is able to hold off defender & release runner behind the defensive line. His through balls are defence-splitting & link up well with wingers making runs. Lowe is productive in front of the goal as well as he averages 1.2 shots per game with a conversion rate of 23%. He came off the bench last time to create some impact as he registered a shot on goal & threaded key pass along with some delicious crosses. Lowe came on later in the game against Cardiff & worked deeper to get the ball to the final shots. He could only manage a single key pass within 14 minutes. His role against Birmingham will be crucial as Ayew misses out. He has scored 9 goals this season in Championship

Scott Hogan (BIR): This the second season for the 28-year-old with Birmingham. He has been the stable choice for the striker role & is dedicatedly used in that role.  His job as a number 9 is simply to pick up leftover balls in threatening areas & fire them into the goal. His abilities arent quite remarkable but his goal-scoring output is also good as he averages 1.0 shots per game & converts 20% of them. He has got 6 goals in the Championship this season.

Captain & vice-captain picks:

• J Lowe

• C Roberts

• S Hogan

• R Harper

Team combination:

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