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

Both with ambitions of being a Premier League side next season, 11th-placed Birmingham City welcome high-flying Middlesbrough to St Andrew’s on Monday night for a huge clash in the Championship promotion race. 

Chris Davies' Blues were comprehensively beaten by Millwall 3-0 during the week, while Boro are on a run of three games without a win after drawing with relegation-threatened Leicester City on Tuesday night. 

Match preview

Waiting until after the weekend to play their 35th league game of the season, Birmingham City will hope sides around them fail to pick up points and make ground on the Midlands-based side, as three points on Monday could lift Davies’ side to within touching distance of the playoff places, potentially leaving them just two points outside the top six.

Since the turn of the year, the Blues have climbed steadily up the table to reinsert themselves into the promotion conversation.

After losing on New Year’s Day, they embarked on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league, a run that was emphatically ended at The Den.

A stunning volley from Femi Azeez opened the scoring before goals from Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper helped Alex Neil's side breeze past a ten-man Blues side to put an abrupt end to their impressive run.

Nevertheless, that impressive run of form included statement victories over league leaders Coventry City and in-form Norwich City, results that have allowed Davies’ men to focus on the upper reaches of the table rather than glancing nervously over their shoulders.

Consistency away from home remains an area for improvement, however.

Birmingham have collected just 18 points from 18 matches on the road, a record better than only six Championship sides, though three wins from their last four away fixtures offer encouragement to the Blues. 

© Imago / Action Plus

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, travel to the West Midlands knowing that recent dropped points have slightly dented their automatic promotion charge and put them second favourites in the race for the title. 

A defeat to table-topping Coventry was followed by back-to-back draws, leaving Boro five points adrift of the summit, and with the leaders in action before Monday’s fixture, that gap could widen further by the time Kim Hellberg's side kick off.

Despite the recent wobble, it has been an impressive campaign overall for Middlesbrough, who have shown marked improvement on last season’s mid-table finish.

A standout feature of their campaign has been their defensive unit, Middlesbrough enter their final 12 matches with no side conceding fewer than their 34 goals. 

Promotion to the Premier League still remains the main goal for Boro and if results go their way this weekend and they return to winning ways here, they could be six points clear of third place. 

The pair meet for the second time this season after Middlesbrough came away from their November clash 2-1 winners. 

Birmingham City Championship form:

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

Middlesbrough Championship form:

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Team News

© Imago

Birmingham City will be forced into changes after their midweek loss to Millwall. 

Jhon Solis was sent off for a second yellow card in the early stages of the second-half defeat and will miss this one through suspension. 

Kai Wagner came off just 15 minutes later because of an injury and will be unavailable to Davies on Monday night, as will Paik Seung-Ho, who will continue to watch on from the sidelines with a shoulder injury.

Kyogo Furuhashi, Lee Buchanan and Alex Cochrane are also unavailable, limiting Davies’ options.

Hellberg has the luxury of naming the same XI once again after coming away from the Leicester draw with no further injury concerns, however he may choose to freshen things up in order to get his side back to winning ways. 

One change could come at the back, with Luke Ayling making way for Dael Fry while Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway should keep their places in attack. 

Changes at the back will be restricted, however, as Alex Bangura, Alfie Jones and Darragh Lenihan all remain in the treatment room. 

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Panzo, Laird; Iwata, Doyle; Vicente, Stansfield, Gray; Ducksch

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Brittain, Fry, Malanda, Targett; Morris; Whittaker, Hackney, Browne, McGree; Conway

We say: Birmingham City 1-2 Middlesbrough

Both sides come into this one looking to get back to winning ways and will be wary of the other side and the threat they pose. With that said, we expect Boro to show the Blues why they are second and have enough quality to claim a big three points. 

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