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Championship | Gameweek 9
Sep 25, 2021 at 3pm UK
St Andrew's
PN

Birmingham
0 - 0
Preston


Bela (45+1')
FT

Bauer (39'), Storey (62'), Ledson (72')

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

:Headline: 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.
Sports Mole

Birmingham City will be aiming to bounce back from two convincing defeats when they host Preston North End on Saturday.

The Blues are currently 11th in the Championship table with 11 points, while the Lilywhites are 16th with nine points.


Match preview

Birmingham manager Lee Bowyer described his side's 3-0 defeat to Peterborough United last weekend as "not acceptable".

The result meant that the Blues suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season, following a 4-1 defeat to Fulham three days earlier.

It was in stark contrast to their promising start to the campaign, in which they lost only one of their first six matches and conceded just three times.

Bowyer will hope that the last 10 days have just been a blip and that Birmingham can rediscover their early season form as the club aim to finish higher than 17th for the first time since 2016.

However, only relegated Rotherham United picked up fewer points at home in the Championship last season and the Blues have won just one of their first four at St. Andrew's in the new campaign.

Preston are yet to win away from home in the league this season, with only Peterborough United picking up fewer points on the road so far.

After opening the campaign with three successive defeats, Frankie McAvoy's men are now unbeaten in five Championship matches but have drawn their last three.

The Lilywhites held promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion to a 1-1 draw last weekend, before progressing to the fourth round of the EFL Cup with a 4-1 win over Cheltenham Town in midweek.

Preston have won four of the last five games between the two sides, with Scott Sinclair the matchwinner in a 1-0 victory in their last meeting in January.

Should the Lancashire outfit be victorious again on Saturday, they would overtake Birmingham in the table and potentially climb into the top half for the first time this season.

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

Birmingham City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L

Preston North End Championship form:
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D

Preston North End form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • W

Team News

Gary Gardner is suspended for Birmingham following his red card against Peterborough, meaning Ivan Sunjic will come into midfield.

The Blues will assess Marc Roberts ahead of Saturday after the defender was forced off at half time last weekend due to stomach pains; Dion Sanderson will deputise if Roberts is not available.

A strike partnership of Troy Deeney and Lukas Jutkiewicz was not that successful against the Posh, so one or both of Chuks Aneke and Scott Hogan could come in.

Preston pair Connor Wickham and Liam Lindsay both suffered injuries in the first half against Cheltenham in midweek so will be unavailable on Saturday.

Patrick Bauer suffered a broken nose last weekend and missed the cup encounter, but Frankie McAvoy says the defender will be "ready to go" at St. Andrew's.

Tom Barkhuizen and Scott Sinclair are back in training after recovering from illness, but they are unlikely to be thrown straight into the starting lineup.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Colin, Sanderson, Dean, Pedersen; Chong, Woods, Sunjic, Bela; Jutkiewicz, Hogan

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Storey, Bauer, Hughes; van den Berg, Whiteman, Ledson, Earl; Johnson; Maguire, Jakobsen


We say: Birmingham City 0-0 Preston North End

Bowyer will demand a response from his team after two consecutive defeats, but Preston are proving hard to beat so the Blues' task will not be straightforward; we think all the signs point towards a fourth consecutive draw in the league for the Lilywhites.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or draw 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/Draw:data




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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester443041086394794
2Leeds UnitedLeeds44279880374390
3Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
4Southampton442591085612484
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4420121267442372
6Norwich CityNorwich442191477611672
7Hull City441912136556969
8Coventry CityCoventry4317121468551363
9Middlesbrough44189176460463
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Cardiff CityCardiff44195205061-1162
12Bristol City441611175147459
13Sunderland44168205251156
14Swansea CitySwansea441511185762-556
15Watford441217155958153
16Millwall441411194355-1253
17Stoke CityStoke441311204460-1650
18Queens Park RangersQPR441311204157-1650
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn441310215874-1649
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth441212205869-1148
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds44138233968-2947
22Birmingham CityBirmingham441210224864-1646
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield44917184774-2744
RRotherham UnitedRotherham44412283285-5324
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