Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Three weeks after a disappointing display in the Black Country derby, West Bromwich Albion pick up another West Midlands feud on Saturday afternoon, when Birmingham City visit The Hawthorns in the Championship.

The Baggies fell below their normal levels during the loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to the international break, whereas Blues played out yet another draw at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Match preview

Unfortunately for those Baggies supporters who work and live alongside their Wolves counterparts, West Brom saved their worst performance of the season to date for the opening Black Country derby of 2026-27 on September 20.

Inaccurate passing at the back allowed Spanish maestro Fer Lopez to net the only goal for the Old Gold, who were hosting a clash between the two sides with fans inside Molineux for the first time since February 2012.

Unfortunately, none of the current West Brom crop were able to channel the spirit of Peter Odemwingie as James Morrison's side drew a anticlimactic blank in the Black Country battle, with Albion going goalless in a match for the first time in 2026-27.

Nevertheless, Saturday's hosts have enjoyed a positive start to the new season after last term's bottom-three flirtation, with the Baggies sitting in fifth spot in the Championship table after eight matches.

West Brom are one of eight second-tier sides who are yet to taste defeat on home soil this campaign, with the Black Country team unbeaten across their past 11 matches (W4 D7) at The Hawthorns.

After passing teams into submission at St Andrew's during their League One title campaign of 2024-25, Birmingham City have experienced less control and more chaos in the Second City so far this season.

Prior to the extended international pause, Blues recorded their fourth consecutive Championship home stalemate in a 2-2 with Middlesbrough, who benefitted from a James Beadle fumble to net a late equaliser.

Chris Davies's troops have become the draw specialists in the opening weeks of the term, sharing the spoils in five of their first eight fixtures, with two wins boosting them up to 10th spot in the second-tier table.

Contrasting with the negative trend from last season, Birmingham have collected both of their Championship victories on the road so far, defeating Wrexham and Derby County by 2-1 scorelines.

Providing two assists in that triumph at Pride Park last month, Hull City loanee Liam Millar has shown the attacking consistency that he has threatened in previous years, with the Canada international providing four goal contributions in as many games for Blues.

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

Birmingham City Championship form:

Team News

West Brom released a significant piece of injury news during the international break, with Noah Galves set to miss the remainder of the season due to a knee problem.

That leaves summer signing Brayann Pereira as the only recognised right-back for the Baggies until they can dip into the winter market in January.

However, it appears that head coach Morrison is reluctant to hand the full-back keys to the 23-year-old immediately, meaning that Callum Styles could start on the right side once again.

Birmingham's squad depth has benefitted massively from the three-week break, with Demarai Gray, Max Bird and former Albion man Taylor Gardner-Hickman all back in contention.

Star midfielder Jhon Solis has returned to England after making his senior Colombia debut, although the international window was less enjoyable for Paik Seung-Ho.

The South Korean picked up a knock, meaning that he could miss the upcoming matches against West Brom, Preston North End and Queens Park Rangers.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Styles, Phillips, Campbell, Townsend; Nzingoula, Molumby, Diakite, Price; Heggebo, Morgan

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

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

We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Birmingham City

After both of last season's meetings ended in a share of points, we are expecting West Brom and Birmingham to play out another tight affair on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies will be desperate to respond positively following the defeat by Wolves, and a draw against Blues would be respectable result.

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