Birmingham v West Brom: Oppose goals in Friday's fixture

• 7 of Birmingham's 10 games have gone Under 2.5

• West Brom have kept 4 clean sheets in 5

• Tight tussle anticipated

• Read Betfair's new 90 Minute Payout offer here

Birmingham 2.89/5 bagged their first win in six Championship contests on Tuesday as Blues comfortably dispatched Huddersfield 4-1 at St Andrew's. Siriki Dembele tormented defenders all night and scored a brilliant double, the first arriving only three minutes into the encounter. Koji Miyoshi and Jordan James were also on-target.

Huddersfield failed to lay a glove on Birmingham until stoppage time, long after Dembele and Miyoshi had departed. And head coach John Eustace was full of praise for his players following their eye-catching performance that lifted Blues up to within striking distance of the play-off positions.

Eustace said, "It was very pleasing. We've been creating chances and I think we've been playing well and tonight we were clinical. Dembele was out for six weeks with a hamstring injury. We can't afford to lose him again. I thought he was outstanding. When we've got a fit squad, we can be very effective."

Elsewhere, West Brom 2.47/5 extended their unbeaten Championship run to five fixtures and sealed back-to-back victories with a 1-0 success over rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. John Swift, who shone for the Baggies fired the ball into the roof of the net in the first half for the only goal of the game.

Albion temporarily moved into the top-six on the back of their deserved win. The Baggies won the shot count 17-3 and rarely looked under any severe pressure from the visitors. Brandon Thomas-Asante came back into the side for Grady Diangana but Jeremy Sarmiento missed out through injury and isn't now expected back until after the international break.

WBA boss Carlos Corberan was satisfied with his team's midweek display, saying, "It was important to recover the solidity of the team in defence. Always in the Championship, the clean sheets are going to help us - at least to take a point - and if you score the goal, to win the game, which I'm happy we achieved."

Unders appeal

Four of the last five meetings between regional rivals Birmingham and West Brom have featured a maximum of two goals and Friday night's fixture could follow a familiar theme. Under 2.5 Goals is trading at 1.758/11 and holds plenty of appeal considering the defensive strength of the two teams.

Birmingham and West Brom have combined to keep seven clean sheets across their opening 20 tussles, whilst only Preston are allowing a lower non-penalty Expected Goals (npxG) average than the West Midland pair on show. Meanwhile, Blues' battles are averaging just 2.23 npxG with Albion's returning a league-low 1.96 npxG per-game.

Seven of Birmingham's 10 league outings have paid-out for Under 2.5 Goals backers, and with West Brom recording four clean sheets in their most recent five, a low-scoring clash could well be on the cards at St Andrew's. I'm happy to take the available 1.758/11.