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

Aiming to build on a positive result earlier in the week, Middlesbrough welcome playoff-chasing Birmingham City to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.

Boro picked up a share of the points at Leicester City in dramatic style last time out, whilst Blues produced another convincing home performance in the Second City.

Match preview

Since back-to-back wins over Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in October, Middlesbrough have fallen off the top-two pace in the Championship, with Saturday afternoon's hosts failing to win any of their last three matches, collecting just two points across the fixtures.

However, Boro defender Luke Ayling stated that Tuesday night's 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium with Leicester felt as good as a victory, with the Teesside outfit bagging a 96th-minute equaliser in the East Midlands following Jordan Ayew's opener for the Foxes.

On a mission to avoid a fourth match without maximum points, Middlesbrough are currently occupying third spot in the Championship rankings ahead of this weekend's visit of Birmingham, one point behind Stoke City in second and five points back from pacesetters Coventry City.

Alongside Frank Lampard's Sky Blues, Boro are one of only two teams in the second tier who are yet to experience a home league defeat this season, although Rob Edwards's men suffered a sobering loss to Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup at the Riverside in August.

With standout summer signing David Strelec still finding his feet in the rough and tumble of English football, goalscoring responsibility has been shared around the Middlesbrough ranks so far, with the likes of Hayden Hackney and Morgan Whittaker on two Championship goals each.

After a busy summer transfer window and a number of high-profile arrivals, Birmingham have taken time to find their winning formula and XI in the Championship this term, however - 14 games into the season - it is safe to say that Chris Davies's Blue machine are back.

Blues are on the road this weekend following a pair of 4-0 victories over Portsmouth and Millwall at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, with the League One champions scoring eight goals in the space of four days following previous concerns regarding their attacking threat.

Despite being yet to register a goal contribution, former Germany international Marvin Ducksch has his fingerprints over all Birmingham's recent success, with the 31-year-old showcasing the quality that made him a top performer in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen.

Davies's side will now look to translate their dominance of matches at St Andrew's on the road in the Championship, with Blues' most recent outing ending in a narrow defeat on October 25 at Ashton Gate, where Sinclair Armstrong finished off a counter-attack to win the day for Bristol City.

Birmingham have fallen to defeat in each of their last two trips to the Riverside, with the most recent of those playing host to Wayne Rooney's first match in charge back in October 2023 - the beginning of the club's unlikely slide down to the third tier of English football.

Middlesbrough Championship form:

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Birmingham City Championship form:

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Team News

After earning a straight red card during the latter stages of the match at Leicester earlier in the week, Middlesbrough defender Alfie Jones is suspended for Saturday's clash at the Riverside.

As a result, Rob Edwards will need to find a new partner for Ayling at centre-back - a task complicated by the current absence of Dael Fry (muscle).

Birmingham are without the services of Ethan Laird due to a hamstring strain, meaning that Tomoki Iwata will continue in his new right-back role.

After racing into a comfortable lead against Millwall, Blues were able to hand star attackers such as Ducksch, Demarai Gray and Patrick Roberts extra rest ahead of this weekend.

Davies might be tempted to freshen up the midfield at the tai-lend of a three-game week, although Paik Seung-ho and Tommy Doyle are an engine-room pairing in perfect harmony at the moment.

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Brittain, Ayling, Edmundson, Targett; Morris, Hackney; Whittaker, Conway, Nypan; Strelec

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Paik, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Gray; Ducksch

We say: Middlesbrough 1-1 Birmingham City

After the dramatic events at the King Power Stadium, Middlesbrough will be looking to continue that goalscoring momentum into Saturday.

This weekend's trip to the Riverside Stadium presents Birmingham with the chance to make a massive statement of promotion-chasing intent before the international break, although we feel that Blues will be forced to settle for a point.

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