Having both had strong starts to the new Championship campaign, Birmingham City and Bournemouth will square off on Wednesday with three important points up for grabs.
The two sides each sit on four points from two games, as Wednesday's hosts toppled Sheffield United on the opening day while Bournemouth defeated Nottingham Forest last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
At the time Lee Bowyer took over as manager last season, Birmingham City were firmly embroiled in a heated battle for survival, sitting in the relegation zone in March after a 3-0 defeat to Bristol City.
The former Blues midfielder quickly reversed their fortunes though, collecting a win over promotion-chasing Reading in his first game, while they amassed 17 points from his 10 matches in charge at the end of the season.
Despite two heavy defeats at the end of the campaign, as their foot was slightly taken off the gas, Birmingham achieved a comfortable 18th-placed finish, nine points above the drop zone, and they now head into the new season full of optimism as they aim for a higher position in Bowyer's first full year at the helm.
The Midlands outfit had the perfect start, as they picked up an impressive 1-0 win away at a heavily-fancied Sheffield United side on the opening day, with Maxime Colin heading in the winner inside the first 20 minutes.
After a 1-0 win over Colchester United in the EFL Cup, Birmingham faced another tough test last time out against Stoke City, and the sides would share the points following a goalless draw.
Having collected four points from two tough games, Bowyer's men will be keen to continue their strong start with what would be another impressive result against a Bournemouth side chasing promotion this season.
© Reuters
In their first season following relegation from the Premier League, Bournemouth headed into last campaign with the hopes of an immediate return to the top flight, and while they never mounted a serious challenge for the top two spots, Jonathan Woodgate did guide the Cherries into the playoff places late in the season.
A sixth-placed finish saw them handed a semi-final tie with Brentford, and despite taking a 1-0 lead after the home leg, Bournemouth would not reach the final as they were defeated 3-1 away from home, meaning they now head into their second straight season in the Championship.
After Woodgate's contract was not renewed, Scott Parker joined the club as manager from Fulham, and he started in the league with a commendable point against newly-relegated West Bromwich Albion.
A heavily depleted Bournemouth side took the lead on two separate occasions through Emiliano Marcondes and Philip Billing, but goals from Dara O'Shea and Callum Robinson saw the Baggies escape with a point.
Last time out, Parker took his side to take on Nottingham Forest away from home, and David Brooks put them ahead before Scott McKenna drew the hosts level early in the second half.
Billing hit his second of the season to restore the Cherries' lead on the hour mark, and despite a red card for Brooks immediately after, they stood strong to see out the 2-1 win and collect all three points.
They will now look to extend their positive start to the season with another victory on Wednesday, when they make the trip to the Midlands.
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Birmingham City remain without goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, and Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Matija Sarkic has deputised impressively, keeping clean sheets in both of the first two league games.
Manchester United loanee Tahith Chong is also out of action through injury after an impressive debut against Sheffield United.
Bowyer should again stick with the forward pairing of Lukas Jutkiewicz and Scott Hogan that fired the Blues to safety last season.
Bournemouth continue to deal with an injury crisis, as Lewis Cook, Steve Cook, Ben Pearson, Jack Stacey, Junior Stanislas, Adam Smith and Arnaut Danjuma all remain out of action.
The selection concerns have only been made worse by the suspensions of key players in the form of midfielder Jefferson Lerma and winger David Brooks, as Lerma will serve a six-game ban for a disciplinary issue last season, while Brooks was shown a red card last time out.
The long list of absentees has forced Scott Parker to trust several of Bournemouth's young stars, with the likes of Jaidon Anthony, Gavin Kilkenny and Jordan Zemura all stepping up in impressive fashion.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Roberts, Dean, Pedersen; Colin, Gardner, Woods, Sunjic, Bela; Jutkiewicz, Hogan
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Mepham, Rossi, Kelly, Zemura; Marcondes, Kilkenny, Billing; Anthony, Solanke, Saydee
We say: Birmingham City 1-0 Bournemouth
While this young Bournemouth side has impressed under Parker so far, they take on an experienced and resolute Birmingham outfit who will rarely be beaten on home turf.
On this occasion, we see the Blues' experience getting them over the line against a young side, as Bowyer's men continue their impressive start to the new campaign.
Top tip
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 Bournemouth win with a probability of 54.16%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Birmingham City had a probability of 20.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.87%) and 1-2 (9.33%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.87%), while for a Birmingham City win it was 1-0 (7.56%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bournemouth would win this match.
