Preview: Birmingham City vs Wrexham - prediction, team news, lineups

Wrexham make the trip to St Andrew's to face Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon needing a win to get back on track in the playoff race.

At a time when the Red Dragons start the next batch of fixtures in seventh place in the Championship table, Birmingham have recently dropped down to 16th position.

Match preview

Although Wrexham had the chance to go four points clear of Southampton in the race for sixth place on Tuesday, Phil Parkinson would have had concerns over the form of the Saints.

As it proved, Wrexham were thoroughly outclassed in a 5-1 defeat, Southampton running rampant in the second half having initially opened up a two-goal lead.

Not only has their goal difference taken a battering, the Welsh outfit trail their most recent opponents by two points having played a match more.

With Southampton now unbeaten in 16 matches across all competitions, Parkinson knows that his Wrexham side must improve on a recent return of just seven points from six outings.

Parkinson may welcome a match away from the Racecourse Ground, a result of 11 points coming from their last six away encounters.

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While Wrexham have enjoyed life in the second tier after promotion in 2024-25, Birmingham have dropped off to the extent where Chris Davies is under pressure to keep his job.

Six defeats in eight matches during a period where four points have been accumulated has left Blues out of playoff contention.

They are the only team in the division to be on a three-game losing streak, their latest setback being a 2-1 defeat at Ipswich Town on Easter Monday.

Positives can be taken from leading against the promotion-chasing Tractor Boys, yet Davies will know that his stock at St Andrew's is lowering by the match.

Birmingham have suffered just three home defeats in 20 Championship home fixtures, albeit with eight draws on their record.

Birmingham City Championship form:

Wrexham Championship form:

Team News

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Davies is likely to make a number of changes to his Birmingham XI, including replacing Paik Seung-Ho - who sustained an issue against Ipswich - with Tomoki Iwata.

Ethan Laird could be preferred to Jonathan Panzo at left-back, while Marvin Ducksch is pushing for a recall in attack.

Although Kai Wagner is closing in on a return after injury, this game may come too soon.

Parkinson will also make alterations to his Wrexham starting lineup, with Zak Vyner an alternative to Nathan Broadhead.

Kieffer Moore appeared to suffer no issues on his return from injury and should keep his place in attack.

While Ryan Longman is an option to return in one of the wing-back roles, Liberato Cacace remains sidelined and Ben Sheaf will be named on the substitutes' bench at best.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Laird; Solis, Iwata; Vicente, Stansfield, Gray; Priske

Wrexham possible starting lineup:

Okonkwo; Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle; Kabore, Dobson, Vyner, Thomason; Windass, O'Brien; Moore

We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Wrexham

While Blues are out of form, Wrexham may still be shell-shocked from being outclassed by Southampton. Therefore, despite the result suiting neither team, a low-scoring draw could be played outside in the West Midlands.

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