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Championship | Gameweek 45
May 1, 2021 at 3pm UK
St. Andrew's Stadium
CC

Birmingham
0 - 4
Cardiff


Dean (84')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Wilson (9', 40', 86'), Harris (68')
Pack (61')

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

:Headline: Preview: Birmingham City vs. Cardiff City - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Birmingham City and Cardiff City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Birmingham City welcome Cardiff City to St Andrew's on Saturday afternoon with their place in the Championship ensured for another season.

The Blues beat Derby County 2-1 last time out to make certain of survival, while Cardiff saw off Wycombe Wanderers by the same scoreline to tighten their hold on eighth place.


Match preview

Relegation looked a real possibility for Birmingham for a large part of the season, but Lee Bowyer's arrival in mid-March has completely transformed their campaign.

The Blues have won five, drawn two and lost one of their eight matches under the former Charlton Athletic boss, most recently picking up all three points at Midlands rivals Derby.

From being three points above the dropzone, having played four games more than Rotherham United in the final relegation spot, Birmingham are now 13 points clear.

The victory at Pride Park, secured thanks to Lukas Jutkiewicz's second-half double, means that Bowyer's men can now finish no lower than 20th.

The pressure is therefore off for this penultimate game of the campaign against a Cardiff side who themselves have little left to play for on the face of it.

Mick McCarthy's men were in superb form from the start of February until the middle of March, taking 23 points from a possible 27 to climb into the playoff positions.

Sustaining that form was never likely to be possible, of course, and so it has proved with a run of two wins in 11 prior to last week's visit of bottom side Wycombe Wanderers.

Kieffer Moore netted twice against Wycombe to reach 20 league goals for the campaign - the first Cardiff player to do so since Jay Bothroyd and the late Peter Whittingham in 2011.

That ended a winless run of five games for Cardiff and leaves them five points off Reading in seventh, which will now be the target for McCarthy.

The Bluebirds are seeking back-to-back wins for the first time since that aforementioned winning run in February, while Birmingham are aiming to make it seven without defeat.

Cardiff won the reverse fixture 3-2 four months ago, but they have won just one of their last 18 league visits to Birmingham - a 1-0 victory on New Year's Day in 2013.

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

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



Team News

Scott Hogan missed the win against Derby with a hip injury sustained against Nottingham Forest, and the seven-goal striker is not expected to be back in time for this match.

Bowyer paired Jonathan Leko with Jutkiewicz in Hogan's absence, but he may be tempted to give youth a chance here, with Amari Miller possibly in line for a first start.

Steve Seddon was replaced at half time at Pride Park and may miss out to Ivan Sanchez against Cardiff.

As for the visitors, they will definitely be without midfielder Will Vaulks following his late sending off against Wycombe.

Joe Bennett, Sol Bamba and Lee Tomlin are long-term absentees, but skipper Sean Morrison returned from a month-long injury layoff last week.

McCarthy notably left out Cardiff's array of loan players against Wycombe with an eye on next season, so expect youngsters Rubin Colwill and Ciaron Brown to appear again here.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Colin, Dean, Roberts, Pedersen; Sunjic, Gardner; McGree, Sanchez, Bela; Jutkiewicz

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Morrison, Flint, Nelson; Ng, Pack, Ralls, Brown; Colwill, Murphy; Moore


We say: Birmingham City 2-2 Cardiff City

With the pressure off for both sides, this could be an entertaining contest in the West Midlands.

Eighteen goals have been scored in the last four meetings between the sides, and we can see the spoils being shared here in a high-scoring draw.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win 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.Home/Away:data




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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720
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