Preview: Birmingham City vs. Crawley Town - prediction, team news, lineups

With the third-tier title already secured, Birmingham City will welcome relegation-threatened Crawley Town to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Good Friday.

Blues suffered a rare defeat on the weekend as they lost to Peterborough United at Wembley, whilst the Red Devils endured a difficult afternoon on home soil.

Match preview

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After a seven-game winning run in League One - one which secured promotion and the title with six games left to play - Birmingham City were shocked at Wembley in the EFL Trophy final in front of 50,000 expectant Bluenoses, losing to an inspired Peterborough.

A stunning free-kick from Harley Mills gave Posh the lead in the first half, and they were soon further ahead courtesy of a clinical strike from Hector Kyprianou, with Blues unable to find a way back into the contest despite their dominance of the ball and the second-half chances.

Sitting 13 points clear of second-placed Wrexham at the very top of League One standings, Chris Davies's troops are assured of the third-tier title with six fixtures left to fulfil, although there is still plenty to play for ahead of Crawley's trip on Friday afternoon.

Three more wins would see Birmingham break the League One points record - set by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2013-14 campaign - whilst four more successes would bring Blues to the 107-point mark, surpassing the record-breaking Reading crop of 2005-06.

The hosts should be supremely confident of collecting three points against the Red Devils on Friday, considering that the Second City club are 21 games unbeaten in League One at St Andrew's, only losing to Premier League sides Fulham and Newcastle United at home this season.

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After finishing seventh in League Two last season and earning promotion via the playoffs, Crawley Town are aiming to avoid an immediate return to the fourth tier, with Friday afternoon's visitors facing an uphill battle to retain their third-tier status between now and the start of May.

A pair of victories at the conclusion of March boosted the Red Devils' hopes of climbing out of the bottom four, but Crawley have since returned to their worrying ways, enduring a three-game losing run ahead of a daunting trip to the runaway champions on Good Friday.

Holding his nerve from 12 yards last weekend, winger Junior Quitirna fired Scott Lindsay's men ahead against Leyton Orient last time out, although an O's comeback was soon on the agenda, with Charlie Kelman bagging a brace, before Jamie Donley added another in extra time.

Losing five of their last seven third-tier matches, Crawley are languishing down in 22nd spot in the League One rankings, six points behind Burton Albion in the relative safety of 20th and six points ahead of bottom side Shrewsbury Town at this stage.

Team News

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Birmingham are sweating over the fitness of influential midfielder Paik Seung-ho, who was subbed off during the Wembley defeat because of a calf problem.

With the South Korean potentially absent, Marc Leonard will be expected to be drafted into the middle of the park to partner Tomoki Iwata.

Emil Hansson missed out on appearing in the EFL Trophy final but could return in time to feature against Crawley on Good Friday at St Andrew's.

After a costly error in net during the defeat to Leyton Orient, Luke Hutchinson could be dropped by the Red Devils ahead of a trip to the Second City.

Such a decision from head coach Lindsay would allow a new goalkeeper to take a spot in between the sticks for the match on Good Friday.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup: Allsop; Laird, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Iwata, Leonard; Dowell, Stansfield, Anderson; May

Crawley Town possible starting lineup: Hutchinson; Mullarkey, Conroy, Barker; Quitirna, Camara, Fraser, Ibrahim, Kelly; Hepburn-Murphy, Doyle

We say: Birmingham City 2-0 Crawley Town

With the league title confirmed, Birmingham are in the business of breaking records until the end of the campaign, with Crawley set to be the latest prey in the Second City.

Blues are unbeaten in the league at their own patch, and we cannot envisage that changing against a Red Devils side fighting relegation.

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