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

Aiming to continue their impressive home form, Birmingham City welcome Norwich City to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Blues suffered a narrow defeat at the home of managerless Middlesbrough last time out, whilst the Canaries experienced another damaging loss at Carrow Road.

Match preview

In a match which has been designated as the club's official 150-year anniversary celebration, Birmingham City will be looking to make it three consecutive wins in the Second City following back-to-back 4-0 demolitions of Portsmouth and Millwall at the start of November.

On the contrary to their relative strength at St Andrew's this term, Blues are struggling on the road and suffered a loss on Teesside prior to the international break, when goals from Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney secured maximum points for Middlesbrough.

After winning three of their last five second-tier matches, Chris Davies's troops have moved up to 11th spot in the Championship rankings ahead of Saturday's hosting of Norwich, four points behind Millwall in the lowest of the playoff positions.

Carrying much of the goalscoring burden for Birmingham at the beginning of this campaign, six-goal Jay Stansfield has spoken of his desire to become a club legend for a side whose new 62,000-seater stadium is set to bless the Second City skyline by 2030.

During a week in which Blues reveal bold plans for their climb towards the top of club football, the visit of Norwich will revive memories of undoubted mistakes under the current ownership, with Gary Rowett's side relegated to League One despite victory over the Canaries at St Andrew's in May 2024.

Following a disastrous 17-game reign, Norwich City finally wielded the managerial axe on hometown boss Liam Manning, who has left the former Premier League regulars staring at the distinct possibility of an unthinkable Championship relegation battle in the face.

The Canaries' winless run in the second tier extended to a sobering 11 matches on November 8, when second-half strikes from Leicester pairing Bobby Reid and Jordan James sentenced the East Anglians to yet another defeat at Carrow Road, where they are yet to collect a point across seven games.

Tasked with taking Norwich away from danger and towards the safety of mid-table, Philippe Clement has been appointed as Manning's successor, with the 51-year-old Belgian set for his second crack at British football after failing to lead Rangers to meaningful success in Scotland.

Losing six of their last seven contests, the Canaries sit only above crisis-hit Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship standings after 15 games, four points behind Oxford United in the relative safety of 21st and an embarrassing 16 points back from sixth-placed Millwall.

Despite their lowly league standing, Norwich have a number of players who could cause Birmingham issues at St Andrew's this weekend, including striking duo Joshua Sargent and Mathias Kvistgaarden, with the latter netting in each of his last two appearances.

Birmingham City Championship form: L W L W W L

Norwich City Championship form: L L L L D L

Team News

Birmingham suffered a major injury blow during the early stages of the defeat at Middlesbrough, with Paik Seung-ho picking up a nasty-looking shoulder problem.

With the South Korean's availability in serious doubt, Blues could bring Marc Leonard into the starting XI to partner Tommy Doyle at the base of midfield.

Just days after signing an extended Birmingham contract, Ryan Allsop could earn a start in goal after James Beadle withdrew from England Under-21s duty because of a knock.

Scoring a sensational goal for Scotland against Denmark on Tuesday night, Kenny McLean will hope to bring some positive vibes back to a despondent Norwich side this weekend.

The Canaries are battling against a mounting injury list, with the likes of Jeffrey Schlupp (hamstring) and Papa Diallo (hip) not expected back this month.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Iwata, Klarer, Neumann, Cochrane; Leonard, Doyle, Roberts, Ducksch, Gray; Stansfield

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Kovacevic; Fisher, Medic, Darling, McLean; Mattsson, Topic; Makama, Kvistgaarden, Schwartau; Sargent

We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Norwich City

After handsome home triumphs at the start of November, Birmingham will be confident of posting another St Andrew's success against relegation-threatened Norwich this weekend.

There should be a natural increase in performance levels from the visiting players as they seek to impress new boss Clement, although we believe that the Belgian will fall short of an opening-game victory.

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