Aiming to keep their flawless December record intact, Birmingham City will host Blackpool at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in League One on Sunday afternoon.
Blues were comfortable winners over relegation-threatened Burton Albion on Boxing Day, whilst the Seasiders were the victims of a late surge from Wrexham in North Wales.
Match preview
Since the shock 3-2 defeat to basement dwellers Shrewsbury Town on November 23, Birmingham City have recorded eight straight wins across League One, the EFL Trophy and the FA Cup, securing their status as clear favourites for promotion to the Championship in early May.
Blues have already taken to the third-tier pitch on two occasions this week, squeezing past a plucky Crawley Town outfit on Monday night courtesy of a Jay Stansfield header before sweeping aside Burton on Boxing Day, when the £20m summer arrival held his nerve from the penalty spot.
Winning each of their last six third-tier contests - whilst conceding just the single goal in the process - Birmingham have assumed control at the very top of the League One standings, one point ahead of Wycombe Wanderers in second and three points ahead of third-placed Wrexham.
Whilst trips to Charlton and Shrewsbury have proven that Blues are beatable in the league this season, Chris Davies's troops are an extremely formidable opponent on their own patch, with Premier League Fulham the only side to conquer the Second City outfit at St Andrew's during the 2024-25 term.
Since back-to-back away successes in League One near the beginning of the festive schedule, Blackpool have failed to provide their supporters any further Christmas cheer, with Sunday afternoon's visitors to Birmingham enduring a three-game winless run across the third tier and the EFL Trophy.
It looked as if the Seasiders were on course for a respectable point on the road on Boxing Day when Ashley Fletcher's strike put his side ahead at promotion-chasing Wrexham, but goals either side of the half-time whistle from Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher won the afternoon for the Red Dragons.
Suffering their first third-tier defeat in just over a month earlier in the week, Blackpool have dropped to 15th spot in the League One table, eight points ahead of Crawley in the highest of the relegation spots and seven back from Reading, who are currently guarding entry to the playoffs.
With Steve Bruce's boys winning just two of their nine home matches this season, visitors to Blackpool have been enjoying their costal trips a little too much for the liking of the Tangerines so far in 2024-25, but the Seasiders are much more potent on the road, enjoying maximum points on five occasions.
Team News
Earning the penalty for Birmingham during the Boxing Day win over Burton, Keshi Anderson is a doubt for Sunday after picking up a slight knock.
Making a return from his own injury setback, Emil Hansson replaced his fellow winger for the second period against the Brewers, and the Swede could earn a start versus Blackpool.
Birmingham are set to welcome Christoph Klarer back to the defence this weekend, with the Austrian enforcer sitting out of the Burton clash due to a one-game suspension.
Providing the assist for Fletcher's shock opener at Wrexham, left-back James Husband will look to cause more havoc down the right side of a promotion contender on Sunday.
Bruce has a number of attacking options if he wishes to freshen up his forward line in the Second City, with Jordan Rhodes and Dominic Ballard pushing for starts.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Bielik, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik, Hansson, Willumsson, Stanfield; May
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Tyrer; Offiah, Pennington, Casey, Husband; Apter, Evans, Carey, Coulson; Fletcher, Rhodes
We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Blackpool
Unbeaten across 10 League One home matches this season, Birmingham will be very confident of concluding a chaotic 2024 with maximum points on Sunday.
Blackpool arrive in the Second City just days after their heartbreaking defeat to Wrexham, and we feel that Tangerines will suffer one more loss before the turn of the year.
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