Exeter City v Birmingham City: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Exeter City will be looking for a better performance and a change of result when they welcome mighty Birmingham City to St James Park on Tuesday.

Two weeks ago Birmingham cruised to a 2-0 win in League One but it should be a different-looking Blues' side assembling in Devon for a last-32 tie in the EFL Trophy.

Exeter City v Birmingham City betting tips and predictions

Birmingham City to win to nil - 13/8

Birmingham won the EFL Trophy the last time they were in it back in 1994/95 and while it's some way from their main priority this season, they should still have far too much in their gilt-edged locker for League One rivals Exeter.

Two weeks after winning 2-0 at St James Park for precious league points, Birmingham are off down the M5 again with a different side picked by Chris Davies but one that should still be well capable of seeing off the Grecians once more.

It was Exeter who qualified for the knockout stage more convincingly - they collected nine points from wins over Swindon, Tottenham Under-21s and Bristol Rovers, two more than Birmingham managed in Group A - but no one disputes who is the better team.

And even though it's no secret Davies will make several changes to rest key men ahead of Saturday's league date with Bristol Rovers, they are still 11/20 shots and hard to oppose.

Certainly Exeter are going to have to perform much better than in the 2-0 defeat against the League One favourites at the end of November. Back then they saw hardly any of the ball and managed only three shots all afternoon, testing keeper Ryan Allsop just once.

The loss to Birmingham came during a run of only one win in six matches, the lone victory against Chesterfield in the FA Cup.

And they were disappointingly timid at Stockport at the weekend, another 2-0 loss in which Gary Caldwell's men failed to register a single effort on target.

Birmingham, in contrast, are on a four-game winning streak as they continue their scrap with the likes of Stockport, Wrexham and surprise package Wycombe Wanderers for one of two automatic promotion places.

The league is clearly the major priority for Davies though when you look at the options he has, say, in attack, it's no wonder they can challenge on more than one front.

For example, the Blues' boss could well give Exeter old boy Jay Stansfield and Alfie May a break after Saturday's hard-earned 2-1 win at Barnsley and draft in veteran Lukas Jutkiewicz and Scotland star Lyndon Dykes. It's not a bad headache to have and it's why Birmingham can win this well.

Lyndon Dykes first goalscorer - 11/2

Lyndon Dykes has scored two goals for Birmingham since his early-season switch from QPR, both in cup action, and he looks capable of finding the back of the net on Tuesday.

The Scotland international ought to be an outstanding signing for Birmingham, a player who really should be too good for the third tier. He started the season, of course, playing in the Championship and just a few weeks ago was representing his country in the top group of the Nations League.

The 29-year-old is a class act and he needs to take his chances for Birmingham with Stansfield and May seemingly Davies' go-to frontmen.

Dykes did score in his new side's 7-1 drubbing of Fulham's academy team in the group stage and also found the net in the 2-1 win at Blackpool in round two of the FA Cup earlier this month.

He will be a huge threat in the air to Exeter, who were played off the park by Birmingham just a couple of weeks ago.

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Exeter v Birmingham odds

Exeter - 15/4
Draw - 31/10
Birmingham - 11/20

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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.