Wolverhampton Wanderers will be looking to consolidate their position in the Championship playoff places when they travel to face local rivals Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Saturday.

The two teams enter the Midlands derby in contrasting form and, with Wolves having much more to play for, Birmingham may well be there to simply spoil the party.

Birmingham City

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It is by no means the fiercest rivalry among the Midlands clubs, but a match against a geographically close team could be just what Birmingham need to avoid their season petering out.

Sat 15th in the table, victory this weekend would mathematically secure their Championship status for another season at least should Millwall drop points at home to high-flying Watford.

Even if is doesn't happen this weekend, it appears to be only a matter of time before Gary Rowett's side are guaranteed to be playing in the second tier next season, and their current position is one that most fans would have gleefully accepted at the start of the campaign.

Their survival last season will live long in the memory, with Paul Caddis's injury-time equaliser against Bolton Wanderers on the final day sealing a late two-goal comeback to earn them the point they needed.

Such drama will not be required this time around, but Rowett will want his side to show promise ahead of next season, with just three wins in their last 16 games undoing much of the good work that the former Burton Albion boss did on his arrival.

Improvement has certainly been made, though, and that was perhaps most evident against league leaders Bournemouth last time out. The Blues were humiliated 8-0 at home by the Cherries in the last match before Rowett took charge, but raced into a two-goal lead on Easter Monday before succumbing to a comeback and losing 4-2.

The defeat, and the fact that they squandered their advantage, will have been disappointing for Rowett, but there were plenty of positives to take from the first-half display especially.

A top-half finish remains an aim for the Blues, with their game in hand - which comes at home to beaten FA Cup quarter-finalists Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday - making the four-point gap between themselves and 12th-placed Sheffield Wednesday very bridgeable.

They have a tough end to the campaign, though, and that could hamper their chances of overhauling the teams above them. Like last season, Bolton are the opponents on the final day, but that is just one of two games against bottom-half opposition remaining.

Half of those remaining six games do come at home, however, where Birmingham have only lost once in their last eight league games and just twice in 13 under Rowett.

Recent form: WDDLWL

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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There is something a lot more tangible for Wolves to fight for in their remaining five games this season, having crept into the playoff places over the Easter weekend.

Dropped points for both Ipswich Town and Brentford opened the door for Wolves to break into the top six, and they accepted the chance in dramatic fashion.

Leeds United were the opposition in Monday's late kickoff, and they appeared to have rescued a point from two goals down at Molineux before Dave Edwards popped up with an 88th-minute winner to seal a 4-3 triumph.

Just how important that goal proves to be will be determined at the end of the season, but it at least kept alive the momentum that can so often be crucial in the closing stages of a campaign.

It handed Wolves a fourth win on the bounce for the first time this season, and they are hitting form at the perfect time as they go in search of back-to-back promotions.

Indeed, whispers of a title challenge would not be too fanciful for Kenny Jackett's side, who are six points adrift of leaders Bournemouth and only five away from the automatic promotion spots.

Wrapping up a top-six berth is the first priority, however, and a showdown with Ipswich later this month looks increasingly important. Wolves' final two games of the season come against two of the bottom three, so if they can get through the Tractor Boys, and Middlesbrough before that, relatively unscathed then they will have to be favourites to make the playoffs.

One concern for Wolves may be their patchy away form in recent weeks, although their only defeats in their last 11 games on the road have come against the top two, while no team outside the top seven has beaten a visiting Wolves since their first away game of the season.

With Derby County in action against Brentford in Saturday's early kickoff, Wolves will see at least one of the teams either side of them drop points, giving Jackett's men the chance to steal a march on a rival with victory at St Andrew's.

Recent form: DDWWWW

Team News

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Paul Robinson's red card against Bournemouth last time out means that Rowett will be without his skipper this weekend.

The hosts could be boosted by a return for Diego Fabbrini, however, after the Italian missed Monday's match with a broken nose suffered in training.

Andy Shinnie could be one of the men to make way, with Demarai Gray and Lee Novak also pushing for a recall.

Wolves, meanwhile, made a number of defensive errors during the win against Leeds, which could tempt Jackett into changing things up at the back.

There are no such problems at the other end of the field, with Nouha Dicko, Benik Afobe and Bakary Sako weighing in with 35 league goals between them for the club so far this season.

Edwards got the winner against Leeds and may have earned himself a start, while Michael Jacobs is likely to have to wait for a place having been recalled from his loan spell at Blackpool.

Birmingham possible starting lineup:
Randolph; Caddis, Spector, Morrison, Grounds; Novak, Davis, Tesche, Cotterill; Gray; Donaldson

Wolves possible starting lineup:
Ikeme; Golbourne, Batth, Ebanks-Landell, Doherty; Henry, McDonald, Edwards, Sako; Afobe, Dicko

Head To Head

The reverse fixture at Molineux was Rowett's first game in charge of Birmingham, and he began things with a clean sheet as they held their Midlands rivals to a goalless draw.

That is the fifth game in a row that the Blues have failed to beat Wolves, however, a run that follows a nine-game unbeaten streak for Saturday's hosts.

Wolves have not kept a clean sheet in their last seven trips to St Andrew's, but did win 3-2 on their last visit on April Fool's Day in 2013.

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We say: Birmingham 0-2 Wolves

Wolves are the form team coming into this match and they have much more to play for than their hosts, who can afford to take their foot off the pedal in the closing stages of the season. A derby match may sharpen their senses a little, but Wolves should still come out on top to strengthen their playoff bid.

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