Swansea City host Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday (August 5) in the opening round of the 2023-24 Championship.
The hosts had mixed results in the league last season but missed out on the promotion playoffs by three points. Swansea finished tenth in the Championship with 66 points from 46 games. Manager Russell Martin departed at the end of the campaign after two years in charge.
Swansea closed out their pre-season with wins over Reading and amateur outfit Tiverton Town.
Birmingham, meanwhile, had their struggles in the league last season but will play in their 13th straight Championship campaign. They finished 17th in the league with 53 points, their highest points tally in six seasons in the English second tier.
The visitors lost 3-2 to Peterborough United in their last pre-season outing.
Swansea City vs Birmingham City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 43 meetings between the two teams, with Birmingham leading 21-10.
- Birmingham are unbeaten in six games in the fixture after losing four of their previous six.
- Swansea have kept just one clean sheet in four games in the fixture.
- The Swans conceded 64 goals in the Championship last season. Only four teams conceded more, three of whom got relegated to the third tier.
- Swansea scored 68 league goals last season, the highest among teams outside the playoff spots.
Swansea City vs Birmingham City Prediction
Swansea closed out the previous campaign on a brilliant nine-game unbeaten streak. They're unbeaten in five home league games.
Meanwhile, Birmingham's latest result snapped their four-game winning streak. They have, however, struggled on the road recently and could see defeat here.
Prediction: Swansea 2-1 Birmingham
Swansea City vs Birmingham City Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Swansea
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Three of their last four meetingshave produced more than 2.5 goals.)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: Yes (Both teams have scored in three of their last four matchups.)