Preview: Birmingham City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

After an eight-year break from hostilities, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers will renew their rivalry in search of Championship points at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Sunday afternoon.

Blues picked up a respectable point against promotion-chasing Southampton earlier in the week, whilst the Old Gold experienced their first major disappointment of 2026-27, losing on the road to West Ham United.

Match preview

Following a sobering 6-1 EFL Cup defeat to Premier League Brentford on August 25, Birmingham City - and more specifically head coach Chris Davies - needed a response, and it is safe to say that has been provided.

Over the past week, Blues have collected four points from Championship clashes with Wrexham (2-1) and Southampton (1-1), meaning that Sunday's hosts have commenced the second-tier campaign with a four-game unbeaten streak (W1 D3).

Extending the form back into the previous season, Birmingham are nine games without defeat in the league and were last handed a second-tier loss by Ipswich Town at Portman Road on April 6.

Waiting until the first day of September to net his maiden league goal of the term, August Priske guided home an excellent Patrick Roberts cross against Southampton, with the former Celtic man producing a man-of-the-match performance earlier in the week.

A wide player with a seperate set of skills, Liam Millar arrived from Hull City on transfer deadline to provide support and competition at left wing, however, Birmingham missed on out the capture of a new attacking midfielder to the annoyance of Bluenoses.

There are no such issues in Wolves' advanced-midfield role, where Fer Lopez has netted twice and provided two assists across his opening four matches, showcasing the excess in talent the Old Gold possess compared to the majority of their Championship foes.

Cesar Peixoto will be the main characters during the large share of their second-tier matches this term, but that was not the case on Tuesday night, when the Black Country side suffered a 4-2 defeat at West Ham, halting a five-game unbeaten run (W4 D1) at the beginning of 2026-27.

Nevertheless, Wolves remain in a respectable position in the Championship standings ahead of this weekend's short trip to the Second City, with the visitors sitting in fourth spot with seven points from four matches.

Whilst defensive lapses have provided cause for considerable concern so far - the Old Gold are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league - Peixoto's men have been able to compensate at the other end of the pitch, scoring a division-high 11 goals.

Wolves' most recent match at St Andrew's was a 1-0 win in December 2017 and they have been victorious in each of their past three games at Birmingham, who last won this matchup at Molineux in February 2017.

Birmingham City Championship form:

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Birmingham City form (all competitions):

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Wolverhampton Wanderers Championship form:

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Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

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Team News

After a promising start on a defensive note to the Championship season, Birmingham are unlikely to mess with a back four of Bright Osayi-Samuel, Christoph Klarer, Phil Neumann and Alex Cochrane.

Jhon Solis and Tomoki Iwata will provide the protection in midfield, allowing second striker Jay Stansfield to support target man Priske.

Blues have important selections to make on the wings, where Millar and Carlos Vicente are pushing Demarai Gray and Roberts for starts.

Appearing in a Championship squad for the first time this season at West Ham, Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci did not move before the deadline and could be reintegrated back into the team.

There are a number of Old Gold players who could feature against their former club this weekend, including box-crashing midfielder Jordan James, who joined Birmingham's academy at the age of eight.

Whilst Wolves work on a free agent deal for ex-Aston Villa winger Bertrand Traore, Mateus Mane and Rodrigo Gomes remain as the clear first-choice options on the flanks for the visitors.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

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

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Tchatchoua, Djiga, T Gomes, H Bueno; Andre, Munetsi, R Gomes, Lopez, Mane; Jimenez

We say: Birmingham City 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Although they are not the fiercest of rivals, Birmingham and Wolves are likely to play out a heated affair on Sunday as they reunite for the first time since 2018.

It could be a case of two top-end Championship teams trading blows at St Andrew's, with the points eventually being shared.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.