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

Birmingham will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the new Championship campaign when they welcome Southampton to St Andrew’s on Tuesday evening.

The hosts currently sit eighth in the league table, while the visitors are 18th.

Match preview

Birmingham head into Tuesday’s clash having picked up two draws and one win in their opening three Championship matches.

The Blues finished 10th in the league last season, just nine points off the playoffs, and they have strengthened their squad considerably over the summer to boost their promotion hopes.

The likes of Jhon Solis, Dael Fry, James Beadle, Luis Vazquez, Kristoffer Lund and Max Bird have all joined the club, while Kai Wagner, Kyogo Furuhashi and Jonathan Panzo have departed.

Birmingham kicked off the new season with draws against Sheffield United and Bristol City, before picking up their first victory over fellow promotion contenders Wrexham last Friday,

Phil Neumann bagged a brace for the Blues to seal what head coach Chris Davies branded a “big win” over a “really good side”.

Davies was also delighted with the way Birmingham “got ourselves together” and bounced back after getting thumped 6-1 by Premier League side Brentford in the EFL Cup just three days earlier.

However, it is worth noting that Birmingham have not beaten Southampton in their last six meetings across all competitions.

Southampton, meanwhile, look to have found some form in the league after starting the season with a 2-1 defeat to Watford.

They bounced back a week later with a 3-1 win over Stoke City and thumped promotion contenders Millwall 5-1 on Saturday.

Cyle Larin bagged a brace against Millwall, while Finn Azaz, Leo Scienza and Tom Fellows were also on target as Southampton produced a statement performance against a side that were top of the table and finished third last season.

Head coach Tonda Eckert was delighted with his team’s performance, but insisted there is “a lot more to come” and that Tuesday’s clash with Birmingham will “demand a lot from us”.

Birmingham City Championship form:

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

Southampton Championship form:

Southampton form (all competitions):

Team News

Birmingham could be forced to make at least one change after Demarai Gray picked up a shoulder injury against Wrexham, with Patrick Roberts in line to replace him.

Solis and Tomoki Iwata are expected to continue in midfield, while Neumann will once again start alongside captain Christoph Klarer at the back.

Southampton could also be forced into a change as Flynn Downes suffered an injury against Millwall, with James Ward-Prowse in line to make his first start since rejoining the club.

Larin is expected to continue leading the line after his brace on Saturday, with support out wide Scienza and Kuryu Matsuki.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Iwata, Solis; Vicente, Roberts, Stansfield; Priske

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Peretz; Bree, Wood, Schlotterbeck, Manning; Ward-Prowse, Bragg; Matsuki, Azaz, Scienza; Larin