Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers square off at St Andrew's on Wednesday evening with both clubs having enjoyed a return to form.
The Blues have moved up to 11th position after back-to-back victories, while Wycombe are now just two points from moving outside of the relegation zone for the first time this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
With just three goals being scored from their opening seven fixtures, Birmingham boss Aitor Karanka was understandably receiving criticism regarding his team's performances.
However, back-to-back 2-1 wins over Huddersfield Town and Preston North End have moved Blues back into the top half of the standings.
Birmingham's decisive goals in those two contests came in the final five minutes, meaning that more than half of their points this season have come from finishing on the front foot.
Karanka will want to see much more from a side who have sometimes failed to impress, and the Spaniard also has a responsibility to adopt a more eye-catching style of play in order to move further up the table.
Nevertheless, only three teams possess a better defensive record than Birmingham, something Karanka will point to if he feels that any negative comments aimed at his team are unfair.
As far as Wycombe are concerned, Gareth Ainsworth is looking to build on their recent resurgence by claiming a first away point of the season.
Ainsworth may have had his doubts over whether his side were capable of earning anything against Watford last weekend, but a hard-fought point has led to the Chairboys turning a corner.
A much-needed clean sheet came with the 1-0 triumph over relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday, a result which has given the club an eight-point cushion over the Owls.
Next in their sights will be chasing down Derby County and Nottingham Forest, and Ainsworth will feel that Wycombe can play with a sense of freedom on their visit to the West Midlands.
Birmingham City Championship form: DLLDWW
Wycombe Wanderers Championship form: LLLLDW
Team News
© Reuters
Birmingham boss Karanka is likely to keep changes to a minimum after playing three at the back proved to be effective at Preston.
Although Gary Gardner came off the substitutes' bench to score the winner, Riley McGree may keep his place in the centre of the pitch.
Given the opposition, Karanka may be prepared to use Ivan Sanchez and Jonathan Leko in wide positions.
Matt Bloomfield is pushing for a return in the centre of Wycombe's midfield, potentially at the expense of Dennis Adeniran.
Barring any late fitness issues, that could be the sole alteration made by Ainsworth.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Dean, San Jose, Roberts; Colin, Sunjic, McGree, Pedersen; Sanchez, Jutkiewicz, Leko
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Allsopp; Grimmer, Stewart, Knight, Jacobson; Bloomfield, Thompson; Kashket, Wheeler, Horgan; Akinfenwa
We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Everything points to a nervy encounter lacking in goalmouth action being played out in the West Midlands. However, both managers will regard this match as an opportunity, and the Blues may benefit from pushing for victory during the latter stages.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Birmingham City win with a probability of 45.55%. A draw had a probability of 27.3% and a win for Wycombe Wanderers had a probability of 27.18%.
The most likely scoreline for a Birmingham City win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.84%) and 2-1 (8.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.79%), while for a Wycombe Wanderers win it was 0-1 (9.32%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.4% likelihood.
