Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Championship clash between Birmingham City and Millwall, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Not living up to the pre-season expectations many had for them, mid-table Birmingham City welcome in-form Millwall to St Andrews for a Championship encounter on Tuesday night.
The Blues, coming off a 4-0 victory against Portsmouth, take on a Lions side who are unbeaten in their last five league matches.
Match preview
Following an inconsistent October, which saw Birmingham win one, draw one and lose two, they started November with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Portsmouth.
Goals from Paik Seung-Ho, Tomoki Iwata, captain Christoph Klarer and substitute Keshi Anderson helped the Blues record their fifth league success of the season, moving them to 18 points and 11th place in the Championship table.
Before Saturday’s home win, Chris Davies‘s side had not won at home since September 20 but were able to provide a ruthless display in front of goal to get back to winning ways.
Without successive league wins since August, the Blues will be hoping to put inconsistent form behind them and build much-needed momentum.
Despite a mixed start to life back in the Championship, a win on Tuesday night could potentially put Birmingham just a point outside the playoff spots.
As for Tuesday night’s visitors, Millwall arrive at St Andrews in strong form in the EFL Championship.
With seven wins, three draws and three losses in their first 13 league matches, Alex Neil‘s side currently sit fourth with 24 points.
Their impressive winning run was interrupted on Saturday when Oxford United’s Przemyslaw Placheta scored in the 96th minute, denying Millwall a fifth consecutive league win, with the match finishing 2-2.
The draw was described as feeling like a loss by manager Neil, reflecting how well Millwall have performed this season.
Should Millwall beat Birmingham and other results go in their favour, they could enter matchweek 15 in second place, with their early-season form proving to be a genuine promotion push.
Recent encounters between the two sides have produced few goals, with just five scored in their last four meetings, and both teams will be prepared for another closely contested match as they aim to claim three points.
Birmingham City Championship form:
D D L W L W
Birmingham City form (all competitions):
D D L W L W
Millwall Championship form:
L W W W W D
Millwall form (all competitions):
L W W W W D
Team News
Birmingham City will be without several players for this one, with Ethan Laird, Scott Wright and Lee Buchanan all expected to remain on the sidelines for some time.
Bright Osayi-Samuel returned to the matchday squad against Portsmouth with a place on the bench, he could start for the first time since serving his suspension.
Jack Robinson, who scored an own goal and received a red card in his last appearance, is available for the first time in three matches and should rejoin the team.
Keshi Anderson, who came on just after halftime and scored, should challenge Patrick Roberts for a place in the starting XI.
As for the travellers Millwall, they unfortunately did not come away from their last game without injury.
In-form winger Femi Azeez came off just after 35 minutes and is expected to miss out on the trip to Birmingham.
Should he miss out, expect Camiel Neghil to replace him in the starting lineup.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Paik Seung-Ho, Doyle; Anderson, Stansfield, Gray; Ducksch
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge; Mazou-Sacko, De Norre; Neghil, Cundle, Ballo; Ivanovic
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Millwall
Birmingham will be looking to make it two consecutive home victories in the Championship but face one of the most in-form teams in the country. Based on recent results, we expect a close encounter with the points being shared on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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