Birmingham will host Middlesbrough at St Andrews on Saturday, September 19 (3pm kick-off UK time) as both teams look to move further up the Championship table.
Blues will be going into the game hoping to gain a bit of momentum after narrowly beating Derby County 2-1 last Saturday.
Prior to that game, Chris Davies’ side had earned just one victory since the season kicked off against Wrexham in the back end of August.
On the other hand, Middlesbrough will travel to the West Midlands with confidence as they look to maintain their place towards the top of the table.
They were were held to a 2-2 draw by Millwall last time out, although that followed a game of the season contender 4-3 victory over Norwich City.
Kim Hellberg’s men currently sit third in the Championship, while Birmingham are just four points behind them, meaning there is plenty at stake for both sides despite the season still being in its early stages.
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The case for Birmingham
Birmingham have looked dangerous going forward in recent weeks, scoring twice in each of their last three league matches.
Jay Stansfield remains an important attacking outlet, while Carlos Vicente and August Priske have also made an impact in the final third.
However, Birmingham will have to deal with several absences.
Demarai Gray, Marc Leonard, Patrick Roberts and Taylor Gardner-Hickman are among those unavailable, while Scott Wright and Max Bird are also out of contention.
Middlesbrough’s counter
Middlesbrough possess plenty of attacking quality of their own, with Will Lankshear having already found the net six times in the Championship this season.
Amario Cozier-Duberry is another threat Blues will have to beware off as he comes into the game scoring 2 goals in 2 games in the Championship since moving to the North East club.
The recent head-to-head record will give Middlesbrough confidence, too.
Boro won the last meeting between the sides 3-1 in March and have enjoyed a strong record against Birmingham in recent encounters.
Birmingham will be hoping home advantage can change that trend, but Middlesbrough’s position near the top of the table and their attacking threat could make this a difficult afternoon for the hosts.
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Predicted teams
Birmingham City: Beadle, Cochrane, Klarer, Neumann, Osayi-Samuel, Solís, Iwata, Millar, Stansfield, Vicente, Priske.
Middlesbrough: Vítek, Borges, Phillips, Ayling, Brittain, Berhalter, Morris, Conway, McGree, Cozier-Duberry, Lankshear.
Our prediction
This should be a closely-fought contest between two sides who have made encouraging starts to the season.
Birmingham‘s recent form and home advantage should make this a difficult test for Middlesbrough, but Boro have shown enough attacking quality to cause problems.
The visitors have also had the better of recent meetings between the sides and could edge another tight encounter at St Andrew’s.
Prediction: Birmingham City 1 Middlesbrough 2
By Elliot Desage
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