Birmingham City v Stockport County: Prediction, Tips and Odds

With just three points separating Birmingham City in third and Stockport County in fourth in League One, Wednesday's St Andrew's clash is a big encounter in the race to try and secure a place in the Championship next season.

Both teams are in good form and come into this midweek showdown after progressing into the FA Cup third round at the weekend.

Birmingham City v Stockport County betting tips and predictions

Birmingham to win and both teams to score - 12/5

Blues were favourites to win League One before a ball was kicked this summer following their relegation from the Championship and Chris Davies' side started the campaign by justifying those expectations.

Seven wins from their first eight games ensured they were sitting pretty at the top of the division early on, as they quickly got to grips with playing at this lower level for the first time in 29 years.

However, things have not exactly gone to plan in the past month as Blues have dropped precious points in draws with Mansfield Town and Northampton Town, while they lost 3-2 at Shrewsbury Town to further check their progress.

Davies' men did get the better of Exeter City last week, winning 2-0 away, and followed up with a victory over Blackpool in the FA Cup over the weekend to take their place in the third round.

So, the feeling is that the hosts are back in a better place now ahead of the Hatters' visit.

Blues will again be backed by a big home crowd and there is a much better atmosphere at St Andrew's these days with the new ownership finally restoring the feel-good factor around the club in the past 18 months.

County, though, also have serious promotion ambitions and they approach the trip to St Andrew's on the back of three straight wins.

An impressive 1-0 victory over second-place Wrexham, plus a 3-0 success at Burton Albion proves they must be taken seriously in the promotion race, while they, too, are preparing for the FA Cup third round after a 3-1 win over non-league Brackley Town on Saturday.

This should be a tight, exciting clash between two in-form teams and the visitors will expect to score on the night considering they have only failed to find the back of the net in one of their last five outings and their tally of 29 goals in the league so far is the third-highest in the division.

However, Birmingham are backed to edge it.

Over 2.5 goals - 4/5

We're expecting an entertaining game and therefore the probability of at least three goals seems high as the two teams meet for the first time in nearly 23 years.

Blues, despite playing two games less, have hit just one goal fewer than their opponents on Wednesday and they have been involved in seven league games this term that have featured three goals.

County, equally, have played in seven games this season where there have been over 2.5 goals, including five of their last six, so action and goals at both ends looks likely on Wednesday.

Clearly, the two sides have plenty of goals in them, further evidenced by the fact Stockport's on-loan star Louie Barry is currently top of the League One goalscoring chart with 13, while Blues' top-scorer is Jay Stansfield, who has hit seven so far.

Louie Barry to score anytime - 3/1

Barry has been one of the most impressive performers in the third tier this season, banging in 13 goals from just 17 appearances for Stockport.

The 21-year-old's stats are even better when you consider he's more of a wide attacking midfielder than an out-and-out centre-forward and he comes into the Blues game flying, after netting a hat-trick in his last outing at Burton.

Barry was rested for the FA Cup win over Brackley so should be fresh and he may have extra incentive to do well at St Andrew's as he's on loan from the hosts' arch-rivals, Aston Villa.

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Birmingham City v Stockport County odds

Birmingham City - 8/13
Draw - 29/10
Stockport County - 4/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.