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

With an opportunity to boost their chances of staying in the playoffs, Hull City host Birmingham City at the MKM Stadium in the Championship on Saturday.

The promotion-chasing Tigers were tamed late on at Sheffield United last weekend, whilst Blues returned to winning ways in the second tier at the expense of Wrexham.

Match preview

With their only Championship win in their past five matches coming at home against bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on March 21, Hull City are beginning to stutter in the second-tier playoff hunt.

The Tigers' latest calamity took place last weekend at Bramall Lane, where a 14th league goal of the term from Oli McBurnie fired the visitors ahead, before Gustavo Hamer and Danny Ings strikes completed a comeback success for Sheffield United.

Winning just two of their past eight second-tier matches (D2 L4), Hull have slumped down to sixth spot in the Championship table ahead of this weekend's hosting of Birmingham, four points ahead of seventh-placed Wrexham.

Linked with a summer switch to Blues before the start of the season, McBurnie has been an exceptional strike partner for Leeds United loanee Joe Gelhardt, with the pair bagging 27 league goals combined.

Since a four-game winless run (D1 L3) at the MKM Stadium in February across Championship and FA Cup duties, Hull have enjoyed home victories over both Derby County (3-2) and League One-bound Sheffield Wednesday (3-1).

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Extending their unbeaten record in a newly-formed rivalry, Birmingham City bested Wrexham in the Second City last Sunday, when both Carlos Vicente and captain Christoph Klarer netted their third Championship goals of 2025-26.

Blues ended a worrying three-game losing spell with a convincing success over the Red Dragons, with Chris Davies's side giving Bluenoses something to celebrate after a challenging few weeks in which the club's playoff hopes evaporated.

Aiming to record consecutive second-tier victories for the first time since early February, Birmingham are sitting 15th in the Championship standings with four matches left, a single point behind Watford in 12th spot.

A constant Achilles' heel on their return to this division, Blues' away form has single-handedly ruined their chances of mounting a playoff push, with only West Bromwich Albion (16) and Sheffield Wednesday (8) earning fewer points on the road than Birmingham (18).

Recent performances away from St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park have been particularly concerning, with Davies's side losing four straight Championship outings by an aggregate scoreline of 7-1.

Hull City Championship form:

Birmingham City Championship form:

Team News

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Seeing red at Bramall Lane against his former employers last time out, Hull City's John Lundstram is suspended for Saturday's match.

As a result, the Tigers need to find a new partner for Amir Hadziahmetovic in midfield, with Darko Gyabi potentially earning only his seventh start of the league campaign.

A key creative force and constant supplier of chances for McBurnie in 2025, left-back Ryan Giles is sidelined because of a hamstring problem.

Charged with drink driving following his involvement in a three-car collision on Easter Monday, Birmingham's Marvin Ducksch is likely to be left out of the matchday squad for a second match running.

Another one of Blues' promising summer signings, Kyogo Furuhashi is sidelined for the remainder of the season after undergoing shoulder injury.

Kai Wagner provided an assist on his return from his own shoulder issue versus Wrexham, whilst fellow left-backs Lee Buchanan (knee) and Alex Cochrane (ankle) remain unavailable.

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; McNair, Ajayi, Egan, Coyle; Gyabi, Hadziahmetovic, Gelhardt, Crooks, Millar; McBurnie

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Wagner; Solis, Iwata, Vicente, Stansfield, Osman; Priske

We say: Hull City 2-1 Birmingham City

Sliding down to sixth place in recent weeks, Hull will be desperate for a victory that would alleviate growing fears of losing their spot in the playoffs.

Birmingham are notoriously poor travellers and the necessity of success for the Tigers could play a huge part in determining the outcome on Saturday.

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