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

Aiming to end their home schedule on a high note, Birmingham City welcome Bristol City to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in the Championship on Saturday.

Blues moved back into the top half of the standings with a win over Preston North End earlier in the week, whilst the Robins snatched a point at the South Coast base of Southampton.

Match preview

Enjoying a positive end to a disappointing campaign given pre-season promotion dreams, Birmingham City extended their unbeaten run to three matches (W2 D1) with a 2-1 victory over Preston on Wednesday night.

Finding the net and providing an assist within the opening 16 minutes of the Second City contest, Ibrahim Osman was the star of show, handing the St Andrew's crowd a glimpse at the reason why Brighton & Hove Albion paid £17m for his services in 2024.

Also breaching the net of Daniel Iversen in the Preston goal, Jay Stansfield ended a 13-match goal drought with a smart finish, joining 10-goal Marvin Ducksch at the top of Birmingham's attacking ranks.

Now looking to record consecutive second-tier triumphs for the first time since the beginning of February, Chris Davies's side are sitting in a respectable 10th place in the Championship table, 10 points behind Wrexham in sixth spot.

Only champions Coventry City (52), Ipswich Town (47) and Southampton (43) have collected more than Birmingham's 41 home points this season, with Blues losing just three of their 22 league fixtures at St Andrew's.

© Imago

Following last season's unsuccessful playoff experience, Bristol City have returned to their modern norm of midtable mediocrity in the Championship, however, that does not mean that they have stayed out of the headlines.

Last managing the Robins in the early 1980s, Roy Hodgson returned to the West Country club at the beginning of April, with the former England head coach suffering just a single defeat in his first five games.

Bristol City's positive string of results under the reign of the experienced 78-year-old continued at St Mary's Stadium on Tuesday, when a Sam Bell goal helped the visitors to a share of the spoils at promotion-chasing Southampton.

With a pair of matches against Midlands foe in the form of Birmingham and Stoke City remaining this season, the Robins are sitting in 12th place, part of a cohort of teams fighting for a top-half finish.

Bristol City have failed to win or even find the net in any of their past three trips to St Andrew's (D1 L2), with their most recent success at the Second City venue arriving in March 2021 by a 3-0 scoreline.

Birmingham City Championship form:

Bristol City Championship form:

Team News

© Imago / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Birmingham fans may have seen the last of Brighton loanee Osman at St Andrew's after he was forced off in the first half of the win over Preston.

A Wast Hills academy graduate, Demarai Gray is a more-than-capable alternate pick for Blues on the left flank.

With a view to next season, Davies is consistently fielding a forward two of Stansfield and August Priske.

Bristol City remain without the services of Max Bird (muscle), who is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Reducing Hodgson's options at the back, Luke McNally (knee) and Rob Atkinson (ankle) are unavailable.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Laird, Klarer, Neumann, Wagner; Solis, Paik, Vicente, Stansfield, Gray; Priske

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

Vitek; McCrorie, Eile, Borges, Pring; Knight, Morsy, Bell, Horvat, Twine; Burgzorg

We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Bristol City

After a comfortable-enough win over poorly-backed Preston on Wednesday, Birmingham should expect Saturday's visitors to be slightly more alive.

Hodgson has brought new energy to Bristol City during the closing weeks of the campaign and they should pick up a point this weekend.

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