SM
Spurs vs. Liverpool: 14 hrs 30 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
BL
Championship | Gameweek 26
Jan 2, 2022 at 2pm UK
St Andrew's
QL

Birmingham
1 - 2
QPR

Aneke (75')
Sunjic (88')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Adomah (14'), Willock (71')
Dickie (59'), Amos (74'), Field (88')

Preview: Birmingham City vs. Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

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

Birmingham City return to Championship action on Sunday when they welcome Queens Park Rangers to the St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium.

The hosts have seen their last two matches postponed over the festive period, whilst the visitors played as recently as Thursday evening when they snatched a late winner at Bristol City.


Match preview

With matches against Fulham and Peterborough United not going ahead due to COVID-19 outbreaks over the past week, Birmingham's last action was at Blackburn Rovers back on December 18.

The last couple of weeks have given Lee Bowyer's side plenty of time to reflect on that game though, which the Blues lost 4-0 against their promotion-chasing opponents.

The heavy defeat was the latest poor performance and result on their disappointing run of form since they won three in a row in the back end of October through to the beginning of November.

Since those successive triumphs, Bowyer's men have won just once in seven attempts, which has seen them quickly fall from playoff hopefuls to bottom-half strugglers.

Twelve points now separate Birmingham from the playoff places, and their lowly position of 17th means they are now only five places and eight points above the drop zone.

Off-the-field problems in recent years means Bowyer's hands have been tied behind his back ever since he took charge, so a promotion push always seemed unlikely, but if the ex-Charlton Athletic boss cannot refresh his squad in the winter transfer window, results may continue to suffer and Birmingham could well fall into a relegation battle after all.

Meanwhile, the visitors saw two of their games earlier in December postponed due to COVID-19, but have since returned to action with a 1-0 defeat at home to league leaders Bournemouth and a 2-1 victory over Bristol City on Thursday evening.

As previously mentioned, Yoann Barbet's late goal in the third minute of stoppage time provided Mark Warburton's side with the three points, after Charlie Austin's penalty on the stroke of half time had initially pulled them level after falling behind early on.

Warburton will be eager for his players to bring those high spirits from Thursday into Sunday's trip to the West Midlands, as he continues to search for the solution to his side's consistency issues so far this campaign.

The Hoops have seemed destined to secure a playoff spot come May on so many occasions when they put together a strong run of form, but they often drop off for a few games before bouncing back with another successful run.

As a result, QPR do find themselves out of the playoff places heading into the weekend, but Thursday's late victory pulled them within one point of Huddersfield Town in sixth place, who they have two games in hand over.

Another three points on Sunday could see them regain their playoff spot in the table, and after defeating their hosts 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in September, they will certainly possess the confidence to do so.

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

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W



Team News

Birmingham will be missing the creativity of Riley McGree on Sunday, who has returned to Charlotte FC following the end of his loan spell.

The young Australian will be a big miss, after he had stepped up to the mark in the absence of on-loan Manchester United forward Tahith Chong, who remains unavailable for the long term after initially impressing earlier in the campaign.

Craig Gardner should return though, after missing the defeat to Blackburn due to COVID-19, but Marc Roberts, Jordan Graham and Ivan Sanchez are doubts for the hosts.

As for QPR, Andre Dozzell will be a welcome return for Warburton, after he missed the trip to Bristol City due to a one-match suspension.

The influential Ilias Chair, as well as Andre Gray, were unavailable due to injury, so the duo will need to be assessed ahead of their second game in four days.

The defensive trio of Jordy de Wijs, Sam McCallum and Moses Odubajo are all definitely ruled out for the visitors though.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Sanderson, Roberts, Friend; Colin, James, Sunjic, Woods, Pedersen; Aneke, Deeney

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Dickie, Dunne, Barbet; Adomah, Dozzell, Johansen, Amos, Wallace; Willock, Dykes


We say: Birmingham City 0-1 Queens Park Rangers

Birmingham find themselves on a wretched run of form heading into this one and will be severely lacking in creativity without McGree and Chong.

QPR will be in high spirits after their late winner in midweek, and despite their opponents being the far fresher side, we can see them picking up a narrow win in their search for a playoff spot.



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



body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__474132 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 12:55:16:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 12:55:16 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Tony Mowbray accepts Adam Armstrong may leave Blackburn
Super sub Sorloth! Atletico go top of La Liga with Barcelona late show
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe20135243222144
2Birmingham CityBirmingham18133234161842
3Wrexham21126331141742
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield20123534181639
5Stockport CountyStockport21106534221236
6Lincoln CityLincoln218762825331
7Reading209473030031
8Bolton WanderersBolton199462829-131
9Barnsley218672930-130
10Mansfield TownMansfield198472322128
11Charlton AthleticCharlton207672319427
12Blackpool207672931-227
13Exeter CityExeter208391922-327
14Stevenage197571517-226
15Leyton Orient207492320325
16Peterborough UnitedPeterborough2073103837124
17Wigan AthleticWigan206681918124
18Rotherham UnitedRotherham196581921-223
19Bristol Rovers2064101829-1122
20Northampton TownNorthampton2156102134-1321
21Crawley TownCrawley1954102032-1219
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge2045112035-1517
23Burton Albion2026121732-1512
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury2033142141-2012
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Team News: Everton vs. Chelsea injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

1

TN

Six of the best: Arsenal set English football record in Palace win

2

SO

Fulham receive proposal for 'untouchable' Pereira

NEW

3

FR

Usyk overcomes Fury in captivating world title rematch, reveals next step

NEW

4

UO

Video: Arsenal's Saka leaves on crutches after Palace injury

5

VA

Injury boost! Real Madrid welcome defender back into squad for Sevilla clash

6

IB

Barcelona, Arsenal 'set to battle' for French midfielder 'next summer'

7

BA

Jesus is risen: Striker continues resurgence as five-star Arsenal pummel Palace

8

JI

Preview: Santa Clara vs. Braga - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PS

Kudus saves West Ham as Hammers earn hard-fought point vs. Brighton

10

KS


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .