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Swansea City and Birmingham City will go head-to-head in an all-Championship Carabao Cup first-round tie on Saturday, 8 August.
Both sides will fancy their chances of making it through to the second round of the competition in a match that also marks both teams' final fixtures before the start of the new league season.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Swansea City vs Birmingham City key stats
- Birmingham have won every pre-season match they've played this summer.
- Swansea have won just two of their five pre-season matches this summer.
- Three of Swansea's last four matches have produced fewer than three goals.
Swansea City vs Birmingham City preview: Visitors to make it through
Swansea City vs Birmingham City — Tale of the Tape
| Swansea City | vs | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Position | N/A |
| N/A | Points | N/A |
| N/A | Goals For | N/A |
| N/A | Goals Against | N/A |
| N/A | Clean Sheets | N/A |
| N/A | Home / Away Rank | N/A |
It feels a lifetime ago that Swansea City were the holders of the League Cup, following a victory over Bradford City in 2013. The chances of them repeating that feat this season are extremely slim, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy a run of some sort.
The Swans have been stuck in mid-table of the Championship for a number of seasons now, but as things stand, they have a squad that looks capable of pushing for more this season.
The key to that has been holding on to Zan Vipotnik, who finished last season as the Championship's top scorer. While the window is not shut yet, the expectation is that the Slovenian will remain in Wales for the season.
Manager Vitor Matos has signed a further six players to bolster his squad, and several of those, including Ross Stewart, could make their competitive debuts on Saturday.
As for Birmingham City, there is an expectation of more this time around after a ‘par' season last time around.
The Blues, who are backed by a US Investment Firm and investors that include NFL legend Tom Brady, have added five new players to the squad this summer and manager Chris Davies knows that promotion is the goal.
Birmingham and Swansea both finished on 64 points last season.
Like Swansea, Birmingham also have a fabled history in this competition after famously beating Arsenal in the final back in 2011. While they are a long way off repeating that, getting back involved in those types of matches is the ultimate aim for the club under their current ownership.
Davies will be without the injured trio of Paik Seung-Ho, Demarai Gray and Marvin Ducksch on Saturday.
Swansea City vs Birmingham City form guide & betting tips
| Swansea City | vs | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
D
L
W
L
W |
Form |
W
W
W
W
W
|
| 5 | Goals For | 11 |
| 7 | Goals Against | 5 |
N/A |
Carabao Cup | N/A |
Whispers predicts: Swansea City 0-1 Birmingham City
Birmingham's brilliant pre-season, which included a win over Barcelona, gives them the edge here. Birmingham to win has been priced at 13/10.
Three of the last four matches between Swansea and Birmingham have produced fewer than three goals. Under 2.5 goals has been priced at 4/5.
August Priske has scored in each of his last three matches for Birmingham. Priske is priced at 8/5 to score anytime on Saturday.
> Birmingham to win at 13/10 (2.30) | Likelihood: Probable
> Under 2.5 goals at 4/5 (1.80) | Likelihood: Probable
> Priske to score anytime at 8/5 (2.60) | Likelihood: Possible