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Birmingham logo
Championship | Gameweek 44
Apr 23, 2022 at 3pm UK
St Andrew's
Millwall logo

Birmingham
2 - 2
Millwall

Bacuna (47'), Taylor (79' pen.)
Roberts (52'), Taylor (54'), Sunjic (86'), Bacuna (90')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Burke (68'), Afobe (90+8')
Saville (25'), McNamara (72'), Cooper (74')

Preview: Birmingham City vs. Millwall - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Birmingham City and Millwall, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Seeking to boost their hopes of securing a Championship playoff place, Millwall will take on Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts have won only one of their last five games on home soil, while the visitors have failed to win any of their last four matches on the road.


Match preview

Birmingham City manager Lee Bowyer on February 4, 2022© Reuters

Lee Bowyer's tenure as Birmingham City boss has reportedly come under threat following three successive league defeats in which they conceded 12 goals.

Their heaviest loss of the season came on Easter Monday when they were thrashed 6-1 away at fellow mid-table outfit Blackpool. Ivan Sunjic was on the scoresheet for the Blues, but his 63rd-minute strike was only a consolation as they were condemned to their 20th league defeat of the campaign.

Only Reading (48) have conceded more Championship goals in 2022 than Birmingham (40) and last weekend's result leaves them sitting 20th in the table, 15 points behind the top half.

Birmingham supporters expressed their frustration and made their voices heard at Bloomfield Road last time out, but hopes of watching their side return to winning ways on Saturday could prove challenging as the Blues have won only one of their last 10 league meetings against Millwall, a 2-0 away victory in November 2018.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett on February 23, 2022© Reuters

Millwall claimed their third home victory in four matches when they beat Hull City 2-1 on Easter Monday, with goals from Scott Malone and Tom Bradshaw helping them secure all three points.

The Lions now have the second-best home record in the Championship this season having accumulated 42 points from 22 matches at The Den; only league leaders Fulham (43) have picked up more points on home soil.

Gary Rowett's men remain in the hunt for a playoff spot and Monday's win helped them move to within one point of sixth-placed Sheffield United with just three league games remaining.

While Millwall's home performances have been impressive, their away form has left little to be desired, as they have won only five of their 21 Championship games on the road this term.

Rowett – who was in charge of Birmingham between 2014 and 2016 – has won his last two games as a manager against his former club, winning both matches with Millwall by an aggregate scored of 5-1.

With favourable-looking fixtures against Birmingham and Peterborough United up next, the Lions will be confident of securing maximum points in both games and putting themselves in a strong position to make the playoffs.

Birmingham City Championship form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L

Millwall Championship form:
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • W


Team News

Birmingham City's Tahith Chong is substituted off after sustaining an injury on April 3, 2022© Reuters

Manchester United loanee Tahith Chong remains a doubt for Birmingham with a groin problem, while Teden Mengi (hamstring), Neil Etheridge (head), Matija Sarkic (shoulder) and Adan George (ACL) all remain on the sidelines.

Bowyer is expected to make changes following their heavy defeat last time out, with Maxime Colin, Jeremie Bela, Scott Hogan and Lukasz Jutkiewicz all pushing for a place in the starting lineup.

As for Millwall, Rowett has revealed that both Jed Wallace and Scott Malone are set to miss Saturday's game due to respective groin and hamstring injuries.

Mason Bennett remains doubtful with a leg injury, so Bradshaw, Benik Afobe and Tyler Burey could all retain their places in attack.

Oliver Burke, Ryan Leonard and Shaun Hutchinson, who all began the last game on the bench, will be hoping to force their way into the first XI this weekend.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Jeacock; Colin, Roberts, Gordon, Pedersen; James, Sunjic, Woods, Bela; Hogan, Jutkiewicz

Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Ballard, Cooper, Hutchinson; McNamara, Mitchell, Saville, M. Wallace; Burey, Bradshaw, Afobe


SM words green background

We say: Birmingham City 0-2 Millwall

While the pressure will be on playoff-chasing Millwall to claim maximum points, there is also plenty of pressure on Birmingham, with their supporters desperate to see a response to their heavy defeat on Monday.

Millwall have fared better on home soil this season, but we can see them ending a four-game winless away run with victory over their out-of-form counterparts on Saturday.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data



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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 Millwall win with a probability of 41.66%. A win for Birmingham City had a probability of 30.57% and a draw had a probability of 27.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Millwall win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.41%) and 0-2 (7.92%). The likeliest Birmingham City win was 1-0 (10.11%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.04%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.5% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Birmingham vs Millwall

Birmingham City
25.8%
Draw
21.2%
Millwall
53.0%
66
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe14102232161632
2Birmingham CityBirmingham1393124121230
3Wrexham1584322111128
4Stockport CountyStockport167632617927
5Barnsley157532419526
6Lincoln CityLincoln157532117426
7Mansfield TownMansfield137332015524
8Huddersfield TownHuddersfield147252114723
9Exeter CityExeter147251410423
10Reading147252221123
11Bolton WanderersBolton147252224-223
12Peterborough UnitedPeterborough156363127421
13Charlton AthleticCharlton145451515019
14Bristol Rovers155371621-518
15Stevenage155371116-518
16Northampton TownNorthampton154561821-317
17Rotherham UnitedRotherham154561418-417
18Blackpool154562128-717
19Wigan AthleticWigan143561212014
20Leyton Orient144281418-414
21Crawley TownCrawley163491427-1313
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge143291324-1111
23Burton Albion141581525-108
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1522111327-148


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