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

With their 2026 Premier League ambitions fading, Birmingham City face another tough task on Sunday afternoon when pacesetters Coventry City visit in the Championship.

St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park will welcome back a Blues side bruised following another poor showing on the road, with the Sky Blues looking to return to winning ways.

Match preview

A perfect storm of injuries, suspensions and below-par performances have culminated in a woeful festive period for pre-season promotion favourites Birmingham City, who are now winless in seven Championship matches.

Blues racked up their ninth away loss of the campaign on New Year's Day, when attacking veteran Tom Ince fired a hat-trick past James Beadle, with Watford overpowering the stuttering visitors in a 3-0 victory.

Collecting just three points across their last seven second-tier battles, Chris Davies's men are now closer to the relegation zone than the top-six conversation in the Championship table, raising serious questions about the club's summer recruitment.

Marquee attacking additions Marvin Ducksch and Kyogo Furuhashi have netted just three goals combined in the division, with the former close to confrontation with a travelling Bluenose at Vicarage Road earlier in the week.

There are clearly talented players in Birmingham's squad, but the collective is currently less than the sum of its individual parts - an issue that has been exacerbated by a wave of injuries and suspensions in December.

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Looking to take advantage of some Second City turmoil, Coventry City have also stumbled in their own way in recent times, earning just a single point across matches against Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic over the past week.

It appeared as if Frank Lampard's men were on course for their 16th victory of the campaign on New Year's Day when Ellis Simms fired the visitors ahead at the Valley, but a rare Joe Rankin-Costello goal forced a share of the spoils.

Aiming to avoid a third straight game without a win for the first time in the division this season, the Sky Blues are sitting pretty at the summit of the Championship rankings, nine points above Ipswich in third position.

Despite boasting the best away record in the league, Coventry have failed to win any of their last four outings (D3 L1), providing a reason for optimism to a Birmingham side who have lost just one of 12 league games at St Andrew's.

The recent history of this fixture points towards a routine Blues success on Sunday, with the home team winning each of the past four meetings without conceding a goal, but the Sky Blues were the last away side to be triumphant in this matchup in April 2022.

Birmingham City Championship form:

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Coventry City Championship form:

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Team News

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Birmingham will be delighted to welcome Tommy Doyle back into the squad on Sunday after the midfielder's three-game suspension for a straight red card.

Captain Christoph Klarer remains on the naughty step, though, meaning that Phil Neumann and Jack Robinson are likely to continue at centre-back.

A surprise omission from the Watford game, Jay Stansfield has picked up a leg injury and could be sidelined once again this weekend.

The standout performer for Coventry during the opening months of the term, Brandon Thomas-Asante is still recovering from a hamstring problem.

A consistent starter for the Sky Blues in 2025-26, Victor Torp missed the trip to Charlton earlier in the week because of an injury.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Robinson, Cashin; Doyle, Paik, Roberts, Willumsson, Anderson; Kyogo

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Kitching; Van Ewijk, Allen, Grimes, Eccles, Kesler-Hayden; Wright, Simms

We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Coventry City

After a sobering New Year's Day trip to Watford, solidity in the opening stages will be the order of the afternoon for Birmingham against Coventry.

The Sky Blues are stuttering slightly in their title charge but should pick up a positive result in the West Midlands this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.