West Brom were fancied to bounce straight back up into the Premier League at the first time of asking by many people and I think after the transfer window now they have had a chance to settle in the Championship, we will begin to see why. The Baggies have four league games to round off September and right now, three of their four opponents are in the bottom half of the Championship table, this is a month of opportunity for them. First up is a winnable, but tough fixture against their local rivals Birmingham.

The Blues have not started well at all, and will be looking to improve on that over the coming weeks. They are yet to win a game, picking up four points in four draws, alongside the two defeats they have tasted. It is clear that the plan at Birmingham this season is to be hard to play against, frustrate teams and try and then take advantage of them. There is added spice to this game with it being a local derby and the fans will certainly be up for it, making this a tricky away game for West Brom. However, as long as they can keep distractions to a minimum and focus on playing against Birmingham on the field, they are the better team and have enough class to but Birmingham away on Friday night.

Can West Brom Make it Back to the Premier League?

There is no doubt that the Championship is one of the toughest leagues in the world to get out of. You can always tell this when the clubs who come down from the Premier League struggle to have things their own way, and they become one of many promotion contenders. This has happened yet again this season, the three teams to be relegated, West Brom, Stoke and Swansea are not going to run away with things, and it wouldn’t be the biggest shock in the world to see none of them promoted this season.

An opening day loss for West Brom was probably the best thing that could have happened to them, serving as a wake up call to the squad. This won’t be easy, and they are going to have to fight to win every game if they are to get back into the Premier League at the first time of asking. Since that defeat we have seen a much better West Brom team take to the field and one that has lost just one of their following five games.

With three wins, one draw and two defeats, West Brom currently have 10 points which puts them in 9th place in what is a very congested Championship table so far. As we progress through September and into October the league will begin to sort itself out and we will see the genuine title challengers emerge. This is where West Brom need to show both their skill and experience to put themselves in a challenging position.

The month of August was always going to be a tough one as they adjusted to life in the second tier of English football, but now we are in September they have been given the perfect opportunity to kick on and show they are a force in this league. After the game against Birmingham, West Brom have two home games against Bristol City and Millwall. Their game against Bristol City is certainly the toughest they have this month, but there is no reason to think they can’t get six points from these two home games. After that they round the month off with a trip to Preston, a team who are struggling so far and have just one win from their first six games.

Do Birmingham Need a Change of Tactics?

The focus on everything that Birmingham City have done so far has been to be very hard to beat. They have put a lot of focus into the defensive side of the game, looking to frustrate teams and give them a tough afternoon. However, after the first six games although Birmingham have four points they are yet to win a game, and have scored just four goals. Those are far from impressive numbers, and is it time for Birmingham to change and play a slightly more expansive style of football in order to score goals and pick up a win or two.

You do need to be a strong, tough team in the Championship but based on what we have seen so far it looks as though Birmingham may be taking this to the extreme. Eventually this kind of tactic is likely to be found out, the Championship is full of good players and managers and it is likely that Birmingham will really struggle if they continue to play in this way. The next few games may not be the best time to try it though, with games coming up against West Brom, Sheffield United and Leeds, three top teams who can score goals for fun if they are in the right mood.

Birmingham vs West Brom Betting Tips

The home side are going to do all they can to make this a very tight game, and frustrate West Brom. However, The Baggies will be expecting exactly this and I am sure they will have worked on a game plan to open the game up and create chances. When comparing the two teams it is clear that West Brom have the better squad available to them and I think they will eventually be able to open up their opponents and win this game.

This is a very important month for West Brom and their promotion hopes, with some relatively easy games coming up against teams they need to be beating if they want to launch a serious promotion push. This game on Friday can be the first win of many for them this month, and it would be no surprise to see them win the next four league games to round off this month, something that would surely move them into a playoff place at least, perhaps an automatic one if results elsewhere go their way.

Birmingham will try here, but I don’t think they have the required skill to pose a threat and the solid bet to go with is for an away win as The Baggies beign their push for the top of the Championship.

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