Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Championship clash between Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Out-of-form Birmingham City are hoping to get their push for consecutive promotions back on track in the Championship when they welcome Sheffield Wednesday to St Andrew’s on Tuesday.
The Blues will be aiming to bounce back from another defeat last time out, while the Owls are looking to make it three games unbeaten this week.
Match preview
Chris Davies‘s Birmingham won League One in 2024-25, and while their aim for this season was likely mere survival in the second tier, they made a strong start to the campaign that has kept them within reach of the playoff spots despite some recent strife.
The Blues went undefeated during their first four games of this term, winning three and drawing one across all competitions, but it would be fair to say that they have stumbled since.
On Saturday, Davies’s side were thrashed 3-0 on the road by Coventry City, conceding within both the first and final 20 minutes of the match to mark their fourth loss from their last five games.
To make matters worse, Birmingham have struggled to create opportunities in recent clashes, scoring only one goal in the five games leading up to this week.
The Blues’ poor form was only divided by a narrow 1-0 triumph over Swansea City on September 20, and has left them 11th in the table, where their tally of 10 points puts them only two behind sixth-placed Preston North End, and three short of the second-placed Sky Blues.
Desperate to turn things around on Tuesday, the hosts will draw confidence from playing in front of their own fans at St Andrew’s, where they have won three, drawn one and lost just one of their five games this season, as well as kept two clean sheets in their last three home matches.
Meanwhile Henrik Pedersen‘s Wednesday went winless over their first five games of the Championship season, losing four times and drawing once, but after taking four points from their last two, they will be looking to capitalise on their upward momentum.
The Owls followed up their 2-0 away victory over Portsmouth – their first of the league campaign – by earning a point in a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers at Hillsborough on Saturday.
While Pedersen will be pleased that his team managed to take four points, he may be disappointed that his side failed to walk away with six considering that Dominic Iorfa gave them a first-half lead against QPR.
In any case, Wednesday are currently 23rd in the table with five points, just two ahead of city-rivals Sheffield United, and are one behind 21st-placed Derby County and 20th-placed Blackburn Rovers, the first clubs above the relegation zone.
Aiming to escape the bottom three in midweek, the visitors will be hoping that they can continue their away form, which features two wins and a draw from their last three games on the road, as well as only one defeat on their travels across all competitions in 2025-26.
Fans will also take heart from the fact that the Owls have scored at least twice in each of their three most recent away clashes, though they will remain cautious given that Pedersen’s men conceded five goals in that stretch.
Birmingham City Championship form:
Birmingham City form (all competitions):
Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):
Team News
Birmingham will be without defender Jack Robinson this week after he picked up a red card against Coventry, as well as left-back Lee Buchanan due to a knee injury, so expect to see Eiran Cashin partner Christoph Klarer at centre-half, while Bright Osayi-Samuel and Alex Cochrane may start at full-back if Ethan Laird is ruled out.
The Blues have even more absentees further forward, as this clash comes too soon for wingers Keshi Anderson and Scott Wright, while attacking midfielder Willum Thor Willumson is dealing with a muscle injury.
With that in mind, Davies could start a trio of Demarai Gray, Kyogo Furuhashi – if Jay Stansfield is not ready to play – and Lewis Koumas behind striker Lyndon Dykes.
As for Wednesday, they are missing midfielders Nathaniel Chalobah and Bruno Fernandes, and while the duo are closing in on a return to action, Barry Bannan should be joined by Yan Valery and Svante Ingelsson in the centre of the park behind a front two of Bailey Cadamarteri and George Brown.
In the backline, goalkeeper Pierce Charles is dealing with a shoulder injury, centre-half Di’Shon Bernard is sidelined with a knee issue, and Guilherme Siqueira is ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury.
Their absence means that Dominic Iorfa, Max Lowe and Gabriel Otegbayo are likely to start in a back three ahead of shot-stopper Ethan Horvath if central defender Ernie Weaver, who limped off against QPR, is unavailable, while Liam Palmer and Harry Amass operate at wing-back.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Cashin, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik; Gray, Furuhashi, Koumas; Dykes
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Iorfa, Otegbayo, Lowe; Palmer, Valery, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; Cadamarteri, Brown
We say: Birmingham City 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Birmingham started 2025-26 strongly, but their form has taken a turn for the worse, and given that they have scored just once in their last five games, they may blank again this week.
In contrast, Wednesday started poorly but have improved recently, scoring at least twice in each of their past three away matches ahead of Tuesday’s clash, and they could walk away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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