Two of the Championship's most out-of-form sides meet on Saturday afternoon as Birmingham City host Barnsley.
The Blues (18th) and the Tykes (24th) have picked up just five points between them over the last six matches so will be desperate to get a win on the board at St. Andrew's.
Match preview
© Reuters
Birmingham were thrashed 6-2 by free-scoring Fulham on Tuesday night, conceding four times in the opening 43 minutes.
Blues are now winless in seven matches in all competitions and have picked up just one victory in their last 11, which was a scrappy 1-0 triumph over Blackpool at the end of November.
Lee Bowyer's side are still relatively safe and sit nine points above the relegation zone, but their next three games are against the current bottom three – Barnsley, Peterborough United and Derby County – so they could get dragged into the fight if results do not go their way.
Only three teams in the Championship have picked up fewer points at home this season than Birmingham, with the mood around St. Andrew's on the verge of turning toxic as supporter protests against the club's ownership gather momentum.
© Reuters
Barnsley have not played a league match since the end of December due to fixtures being postponed, so Poya Asbaghi's men will be keen to get back in action as they fight to survive the drop.
The Tykes fell to the bottom of the table last weekend as Derby beat Sheffield United and they are eight points adrift of safety having won just two league matches all season.
Asbaghi is still looking for his first win in the Championship since replacing Markus Schopp at the helm in mid-November, but will hope to build on the thrilling 5-4 victory over Barrow in the FA Cup a fortnight ago.
Barnsley are the only Championship side yet to win away from home this season and have lost seven of their last eight matches on the road.
This season's reverse fixture at Oakwell finished 1-1 in August, as Lukas Jutkiewicz cancelled out Callum Styles's early opener.
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Lee Bowyer is hopeful that Jordan Graham could feature for Birmingham as the winger has returned to training after missing the last three games.
New loan signing Taylor Richards is still not fit to play, while Troy Deeney and Ivan Sanchez are also absent through injury.
Marc Roberts and Lukasz Jutkiewicz were taken off against Fulham as a precaution after recently returning from hamstring issues, but should be available.
Poya Asbaghi says that Barnsley have exactly 14 first team players available for this game, meaning they should finally be able to play after Covid-19 and injuries meant they had to call off recent games due to a depleted squad.
The Tykes boss is hopeful that Michal Helik will be at least fit enough for the matchday squad after returning from a thigh problem.
Captain and top goalscorer Cauley Woodrow is set for around two months on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery last week.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Mengi, Roberts, Pedersen; Colin, Gardner, Woods, Sunjic, Bela; Hogan, Hernandez
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Andersen, Moon, Kitching; Brittain, Benson, Styles, J. Williams; Cole, Adeboyejo, Morris
We say: Birmingham City 0-0 Barnsley
In truth, it is hard to see either side having the confidence or the quality to win this game. It is more likely that Birmingham will get the three points, but Blues will be physically and mentally drained after a three-game week and the thrashing at Fulham. We are going for a draw that does neither team much good.
Top tip
Olly Allen
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Birmingham City win with a probability of 36.97%. A win for Barnsley had a probability of 34.54% and a draw had a probability of 28.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Birmingham City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.74%) and 2-0 (6.93%). The likeliest Barnsley win was 0-1 (11.39%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.28%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Birmingham City would win this match.
