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Birmingham logo
Championship | Gameweek 28
Jan 21, 2023 at 3pm UK
St. Andrew's Stadium
Preston North End logo

Birmingham
1 - 2
Preston

Jutkiewicz (83')
Mejbri (32'), Chong (45+1'), Bacuna (79'), Jutkiewicz (90+1')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Ledson (10'), Browne (15')
Brady (45')

Preview: Birmingham City vs. Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

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

Birmingham City will be looking to build on success in the FA Cup during the week when they host Preston North End at St Andrew's in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues were victorious over League One's Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night to set up a clash with Blackburn Rovers next week, whereas the aim for Preston will be to respond after a heavy defeat to Norwich City last Saturday.


Match preview

Birmingham City's Kevin Long celebrates scoring their second goal on January 17, 2023© Reuters

Birmingham headed to The New Lawn for their third-round FA Cup tie with Forest Green following four-straight losses in the Championship, John Eustace's worst run since taking the reins at the start of the season.

Blues have looked fatigued and uncharacteristically disorganised since returning from the World Cup break, and that worrying theme continued in the first half in Gloucestershire as Forest Green deservedly led at the half-time interval courtesy of a sweet strike from Ben Stevenson.

A triple substitution and a departure from a back three ensued during the half-time break, which changed the course of the game, with goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz and Kevin Long securing Blues' passage into the fourth round - although Neil Etheridge had to be at his acrobatic best to avoid an unwanted replay.

The aim now will be to take the momentum from that success into the Championship, where Birmingham are sitting in 18th position, six points above the relegation zone and nine behind sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion.

Injuries have impacted the progression of Eustace's close-knit squad - especially in defensive areas - with the 43-year-old keen to remind supporters and players alike that they must stick together through the inevitable tough periods of a 46-game Championship season.

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe on August 20, 2022© Reuters

Preston also managed to secure their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup after beating Huddersfield Town 3-1 a fortnight ago, but the Lilywhites were unable to record three-straight wins in all competitions as they were trashed 4-0 by Norwich last weekend.

Championship legend Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell both bagged braces at Deepdale for David Wagner's side, with Preston unable to contain the Canaries in their heaviest loss of the campaign to date.

The period at the start of the season when Ryan Lowe's men were freakishly hard to score against is a distant memory - Preston have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine matches, a record which has made it difficult for North End to keep pace with the league's top six.

Preston are currently 13th in the league standings, four points behind West Brom in sixth, and considering the form of the likes of the Baggies and Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough, Lowe's men need to string a few wins together in order to reignite their playoff dreams.

The Lilywhites have been expert travellers so far this season - collecting 24 points from 13 outings - and should be confident heading to a ground where they are unbeaten in their last three visits.

Birmingham City Championship form:


Birmingham City form (all competitions):


Preston North End Championship form:


Preston North End form (all competitions):



Team News

Birmingham City midfielder Jobe Bellingham in action against Reading on December 16, 2022.© Reuters

Birmingham City attacker Reda Khadra will return to the matchday squad this Saturday after being ineligible to play in the FA Cup clash with Forest Green, meaning Eustace could hand the German his first start for the club alongside Troy Deeney.

Eustace gave updates on the injuries to defenders Marc Roberts (hamstring) and Harlee Dean (calf) after the cup win on Tuesday, with the Blues boss stating both are still a couple of weeks away from action.

Midfielder Jobe Bellingham is expected to be sidelined for around a month due to a stomach injury, whereas fellow youngster George Hall has been training on the grass this week as he recovers from a hamstring strain.

Nico Gordon appeared in a Birmingham matchday squad for the first time this campaign against Forest Green after time out due to a medical condition, with the young defender looking to rival Long, Dion Sanderson and Auston Trusty for a place in the Blues backline.

Preston have been boosted this week by the return of Sean Maguire to full training, with the striker fully fit to face Birmingham on Saturday afternoon according to manager Lowe.

Emil Riis Jakobsen is set to be a long-term absentee for the Lilywhites after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the win at Stoke City, meaning the aforementioned Maguire and Ched Evans will have more of the goalscoring burden placed on them for the rest of the season.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Sanderson, Long, Trusty; Colin, Bielik, Hannibal, Chong, Graham; Khadra, Deeney

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Diaby, Storey, Lindsay; Fernandez, Browne, Ledson, Johnson, Hughes; Delap, Parrott


SM words green background

We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Preston North End

Birmingham needed that cup win against Forest Green to prevent a full-blown panic from commencing amongst supporters, but they must now back that victory up with a respectable performance and result in the Championship this weekend.

Preston will be desperate to put that heavy defeat to Norwich behind them, and with key players returning to the fold for this game they should be good enough for a point at St Andrew's.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 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.Over 1.5:data


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Written by
Carter White

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Game History

How you voted: Birmingham vs Preston

Birmingham City
45.8%
Draw
28.8%
Preston North End
25.4%
59
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Birmingham City's Kevin Long celebrates scoring against Forest Green Rovers on January 17, 2023
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham23165241172453
2Wycombe WanderersWycombe25156450272351
3Wrexham25156437181951
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield24145537191847
5Barnsley2512673933642
6Reading2412573933641
7Stockport CountyStockport25108737271038
8Leyton Orient24114932221037
9Mansfield TownMansfield2311483126537
10Bolton WanderersBolton2411493637-137
11Charlton AthleticCharlton239772721634
12Lincoln CityLincoln258892830-232
13Rotherham UnitedRotherham248792424031
14Stevenage238781820-231
15Exeter CityExeter2494112831-331
16Blackpool247983235-330
17Wigan AthleticWigan2376102123-227
18Northampton TownNorthampton2568112439-1526
19Peterborough UnitedPeterborough2474134146-525
20Bristol Rovers2474132238-1625
21Crawley TownCrawley2355132443-1920
22Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury2445152444-2017
23Cambridge UnitedCambridge2445152243-2117
24Burton Albion2428142038-1814


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