MX23RW : Saturday, October 5 01:18:16| >> :60:2958:2958:

Preview: Birmingham City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday lunchtime's Championship match, a West Midlands derby between Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The West Midlands takes centre stage on Saturday lunchtime for a Championship derby between Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The home side saw their four-match winning run come to an end last week, while Wolves are desperate to end their three-game losing streak.


Birmingham

Gary Rowett of Birmingham City looks on during the pre season friendly match between Nuneaton Town and Birmingham City at the James Parnell Stadium on July 14, 2015© Getty Images

The Blues have been celebrating one year with Gary Rowett as manager this week and what an impact the former midfielder has had in the last 12 months.

The 41-year-old inherited a side that had just lost 8-0 to Bournemouth at home and were lying in the bottom three. He did more than keep than up, achieving a top-10 finish and now this season the Blues look like genuine playoff contenders.

They had a chance to make it five wins in a row and close the gap to leaders Brighton & Hove Albion at Hull City last weekend, but a 2-0 defeat saw them drop from second to sixth.

Defensive stability and consistent team selection have been the name of the game under Rowett.

He quickly tightened them up at the back and again this season they have been a tough nut to crack - there have been two goals or fewer in seven of the Blues' last eight matches in the Championship.

Rowett has also used fewer players than any other manager in the league this term with only 18 players appearing.

Recent form: LWWWWL


Wolves

Wolves manager Kenny Jackett looks on prior to the Pre Season Friendly match between Oxford United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Kassam Stadium on July 29, 2014© Getty Images

Kenny Jackett's team have lost three consecutive league matches for the first time since December last year, when they went on a five-game losing streak which derailed their playoff charge.

Last week was certainly not kind to the club as they lost all three games and conceded nine goals in the process.

After a 4-2 beating at Derby County they had back-to-back home games against Brentford and Middlesbrough and went down 2-0 and 3-1 to drop to 14th in the table, nine points behind Saturday's opponents Birmingham in the final playoff spot.

Wolves were leading against promotion favourites Middlesbrough, but then lost defender Kortney Hause to injury which seemed to help Boro as they found the net three times late on to wrap up victory.

Wolves are already light at the back and Hause's absence has seen Jackett look to the loan market, and earlier today they secured the one-month signing of Mike Williamson from Newcastle United.

The Black Country club also added teenage striker Daniel Armstrong, but it is unlikely that he will come into the first-team thinking quite yet.

Recent form: DWWLLL


Team News

Birmingham City's David Cotterill carries the ball forward during a Championship match against Charlton Athletic on October 4, 2014© Getty Images

Birmingham's star midfielder David Cotterill returned to the bench against Hull and is likely to come back into the starting XI here.

He could take Jacques Maghoma's place out wide, while in midfield Andrew Shinnie might be preferred to Jonathan Spector after coming on at half time for the American at the KC Stadium.

With Hause out for around six weeks, Williamson could come straight into the Wolves defence and join captain Danny Batth at centre-back. Dominic Iorfa is also close to a return.

Further forward, Rajiv van La Parra is expected to miss at least a fortnight, so either James Henry or Sheyi Ojo could come in behind striker Benik Afobe.

Birmingham possible starting lineup:
Kuszczak; Caddis, Morrison, Robinson, Grounds; Gleeson, Kieftenbeld; Cotterill, Shinnie, Gray; Donaldson

Wolves possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Doherty, Batth, Williamson, Golbourne; McDonald, Coady; Byrne, Edwards, Henry; Afobe


Head To Head

The last meeting between the two was also at St Andrew's in April and it was Birmingham who fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 as strikes from Rob Kiernan and Demarai Gray ensured the points for the Blues.

Wolves have won only once in their last eight visits to St Andrew's in the league, drawing four and losing three.


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Birmingham 1-0 Wolves

Birmingham's superb run was halted at Hull, but the high-flying Blues should still have too much for an out-of-sorts Wolves side.



ID:254832: cacheID:254832:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10158:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mike Williamson of Newcastle United in action during the Capital One Cup Second Round between Newcastle United and Northampton Town at St James' Park on August 25, 2015 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Read Next:
Wolves 'to sign Mike Williamson on loan'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham8710178922
2Wrexham9522147717
3Mansfield TownMansfield85211511417
4Stockport CountyStockport8431137615
5Lincoln CityLincoln8431137615
6Blackpool94321714315
7Barnsley94321513215
8Wycombe WanderersWycombe84221613314
9Stevenage942375214
10Exeter CityExeter841396313
11Bolton WanderersBolton84131313013
12Reading84131212013
13Charlton AthleticCharlton941499013
14Wigan AthleticWigan933395412
15Huddersfield TownHuddersfield94051211112
16Peterborough UnitedPeterborough93241417-311
17Rotherham UnitedRotherham9243710-310
18Bristol Rovers93151015-510
19Northampton TownNorthampton82241013-38
20Leyton Orient9225912-38
21Crawley TownCrawley8215512-77
22Burton Albion8044916-74
23Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury9117615-94
24Cambridge UnitedCambridge8017616-101


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!