Midweek Championship Tips: Back Birmingham to beat Baggies and three more bets | OneFootball

Leicester v Southampton - January addition to make it two in two

Tuesday, 19:45

Leicester really don't help themselves. A lack of discipline cost them on Saturday with their fourth dismissal of the campaign, all of which have come in the first-half of games. Andy King described Bobby Cordova-Reid's sending off as 'shooting themselves in the foot', and admitted that it is something which he plans to address with the squad this week.

Unfortunately, a quick turnaround means that the temporary gaffer won't have much time on the training ground ahead of this midweek fixture. There is a general malaise around the club, and the six-point deduction hasn't helped matters. The Foxes find themselves in relegation trouble and their best player, Jordan James remains on the sidelines.

They've managed to collect just a single point from their last five matches and have suffered home defeats to Charlton and Oxford, two sides who they were expected to defeat easily.

Southampton have regained some semblence of togetherness and are moving right in the direction. Despite sitting 14th in the table, they are just four points off the play-offs and have the squad depth to mount a late challenge. They have added a new striker in the January transfer window, and he is already off the mark. Cyle Larin took just three minutes to register his first goal in the second tier and will be hoping that he's done enough to displace Ross Stewart in the XI.

The Canadian played just 23 minutes, and had just one opportunity, yet he took it. He has struggled at his previous employers, but that goal will restore his confidence. Saints are likely to create plenty of chances and he should be able to take advantage of the Foxes' slack defending.

Oxford v Norwich - Low-scoring encounter at the Kassam

Tuesday, 19:45, Live on Sky Sports+ App

Oxford are still five points adrift of safety, yet they are scrapping for every point. They managed to hold faltering leaders Coventry to a goalless draw at the weekend despite going down to 10 men in the second-half. Matt Bloomfield's side will have to cope without Will Lankshear for this fixture, but they have enough options with both Mark Harris and Ole Romeny coming off the bench at the weekend.

The Yellows managed just four shots at Coventry, but being back at the Kassam, they will be expected to show a little more adventure here. Since Bloomfield succeeded Gary Rowett, Oxford have drawn four blanks in six games and they may find it difficult to break through a Norwich defence which has shipped just seven goals in nine outings.

Norwich weren't at their best at the weekend, but they got a slice of luck with Oscar Schwartau's efforts from range falling perfectly for Slimane and new signing Mohamed Toure. The Canaries suffered bad luck with injuries and many fans will be worried about Jovon Makama's diagnosis. Papa Amadou Diallo has also added his name to the injury list, which also includes Pelle Mattsson, Harry Amass, Ante Crnac and Forson Amankwah.

Philippe Clement has plenty of quality in his squad, but he will be keen to avoid any further injuries. His side struggled to break down an obstinate Blackburn at the weekend and the 2-0 scoreline probably flattered the East Anglians. Nevertheless, they may just require one moment of brilliance, or luck, or both.

Birmingham v West Brom - Blues to edge past increasingly solid WBA

Tuesday, 20:00, Live on Sky Sports Football

Birmingham had to work hard for their three points on Saturday afternoon despite having a man advantage for the majority of the contest. The Blues tested Asmir Begovic on several occasions, and were fairly wasteful at St. Andrews, taking 21 shots, creating three big chances and chalking up an xG of 1.44. Thankfully, Jay Stansfield's accuracy extended their unbeaten run to six games and the play-offs remain in sight for Chris Davies' men.

They have been bolstered by the January signings with the first addition of the window, Kai Wagner, looking razor-sharp and solving the left-sides conundrum, which plagued them throughout the first half of the campaign.

They are far better in front of their own fans, unbeaten here since 18 October, but a few too many draws have prevented them from climbing into the top six.

West Brom were far better at the weekend. Eric Ramsay has had an incredibly tough start to life at the Hawthorns and back-to-back games against Stoke and Birmingham aren't particularly straightforward for the former Minnesota boss. Nevertheless, he ditched the back five against the Potters, which gave the XI a far better balance.

He also drafted Daryl Dike into the XI for his first start of the season, and although they registered just two shots on target, they looked far more cohesive and were doing the basics correctly.

It feels like a bit of a tough ask for them to pick up their first victory of the Ramsay tenure here at St. Andrews, but they should be up for the fight. The central defensive partnership is still a little suspect, so I don't expect it to hold firm for 90 minutes, but they aren't likely to crumble.

Charlton v Stoke - Another stalemate for the hosts

Wednesday, 19:45, Live on Sky Sports+ App

Charlton will probably view Friday's 0-0 draw with QPR as a missed opportunity. The Addicks started strongly, yet they weren't able to break down their fellow Londoners and when you consider their ropey form on the road, they really should be collecting maximum points at the Valley when hosting fellow bottom-half teams.

They created three big chances, had five shots on target and an xG of 1.10, yet it wasn't enough to break through.

At the other end of the pitch, they have looked relatively solid and look far more secure since Luke Chambers and Conor Coady arrived. A back three of Kayne Ramsay, Lloyd Jones and Amari Bell seems to be working well and we can expect a similar set-up on Wednesday evening. Only three sides have managed 2+ goals at this ground, including high-flying Middlesbrough and Stoke will have their work cut out to find a way through.

The Potters aren't easy to penetrate. They were hoping to add firepower with Jay Rak-Sakyi and Milan Smit, yet neither of the new arrivals appear to be fully up-to-speed in the second tier just yet. Since securing back-to-back victories, Mark Robins' men have scored just twice in their last five. They've conceded just five goals during that period and the fans aren't getting a lot of value for money when it comes to pure entertainment.

These two sides could easily cancel each other out and it could be another tight (and potentially turgid) 90 minutes.