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69 min:<\/strong> The first change of the evening, and it\u2019s made by Ipswich. A triple change, in fact. Chaplin, Broadhead and Young come on for Szmodics, Ogbene and Johnson. The 40-year-old Young, formerly of Aston Villa, receives the pantomime abuse you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 67 min:<\/strong> \u2026 but Ipswich soon get back to their metronomic passing. Birmingham hold them at arm\u2019s length though.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 65 min:<\/strong> Ipswich had enjoyed 90 percent of possession since the goal, a fine response to falling behind. So the hosts pass it around the back for a bit to reassert themselves. Anderson then buys a cheap free kick by turning the clumsy Johnson, and now it\u2019s Birmingham\u2019s turn to take their sweet time over a restart.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 63 min:<\/strong> The resulting free kick leads to a corner on the right. Davis swings it in, and O\u2019Shea heads it high over the bar. This match continues to bubble away without quite boiling over. There\u2019s still time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 61 min:<\/strong> Cochrane flips Szmodics into the air, and Matusiwa takes exception to the act. An exchange of viewpoints. The referee tells everyone to simmer down.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 59 min:<\/strong> Ipswich have done a lot of sitting back, but now they need to come out and play. So that\u2019s what they do. Davis nearly gets on the end of Szmodics\u2019 right-wing cross. Then Szmodics and Hirst one-two their way down the inside-right channel, only for Klarer to slide into view and hook away elegantly. A crucial intervention, because Szmodics would have been clear in the box.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 57 min:<\/strong> The likes of Tom Brady and David Beckham are all good and well, but here\u2019s a proper old-school celebrity Blue celebrating in the stand: Jasper Carrott. Second-city royalty.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.19 EDT<\/p>\n GOAL! Birmingham City 1-0 Ipswich Town (Stansfield 55)<\/p>\n Palmer\u2019s clearance is met on the halfway line by Osayi-Samuel, who heads it back down the inside-right channel. Kyogo gets in ahead of O\u2019Shea, extending a leg and lobbing over Palmer. The ball cannons off the left-hand post and back to the feet of Stansfield, who can\u2019t miss, and roofs it from six yards. St Andrew\u2019s erupts!<\/p>\n Jay Stansfield slots the ball home from close range to give Birmingham City the lead … Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAWheels away in celebration … Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAThen soaks up the St Andrew\u2019s adulation. Photograph: Carl Recine\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.28 EDT<\/p>\n 53 min:<\/strong> Osayi-Samuel passes back to Allsop under intense pressure from Clarke. There\u2019s plenty of juice on the pass, so the keeper does well to chip it back to his full-back over the head of the buzzing Clarke. Birmingham hearts in mouths for a split second there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 51 min:<\/strong> Hirst gets involved with Klarer on the halfway line, as the pair tussle under a long ball. A feeling that it wouldn\u2019t take too much for this game to erupt in the precision-throwing of hands.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 49 min:<\/strong> Iwata tries to return the favour with a curler from the right, but with Kyogo lurking, Greaves clears behind for a corner. The resulting set piece falls to Paik on the left-hand edge of the D; Paik swings a leg and hoicks harmlessly wide left. A long way left.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 47 min:<\/strong> Kyogo tees up Iwata on the edge of the Ipswich box with a cushioned pass. Iwata blazes over.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 46 min:<\/strong> The ball skims off the top of Osayi-Samuel\u2019s head and nearly out for a corner. Osayi-Samuel chases back to stop the ball on the line, but is then flattened by Hirst, who had also been chasing and couldn\u2019t slow his run. Free kick. Hirst not afraid to put it about.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Ipswich get the second half started.<\/strong> No changes. \u201cMaybe there was to much hype to this fixture because neither side looks very impressive,\u201d argues Mary Waltz. \u201cPlus the officials wearing out their whistle has not helped.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Half-time entertainment.<\/strong> Who and what to look out for this season in the Championship<\/a>, courtesy of Ben Fisher.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>HALF TIME: Birmingham City 0-0 Ipswich Town<\/p>\n Ipswich are favourites to go up, Birmingham third favourites. Both teams have 45-and-a-half more games to justify those predictions.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min +2:<\/strong> Johnson curls in from the right. Taylor comes in from the other flank and shoulders the ball wide. A decent enough chance to end the half.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min +1:<\/strong> The first of two additional first-half minutes passes without incident.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 45 min:<\/strong> Gray takes the resulting free kick. A gentle curler towards the right-hand side of the goal that nestles gently in Palmer\u2019s midriff. Easy.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 44 min:<\/strong> Anderson barrels down the middle of the park and is unceremoniously skittled from behind by Matusiwa. A tug of the shirt, then a cheeky knee in the coccyx. No complaints, as he took one for the team. Anderson had options either side.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 43 min:<\/strong> The expected goals so far: 0.18 to 0.15. Probably not too much by way of surprise in that statistic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 41 min:<\/strong> Anderson curls in from the left. Osayi-Samuel races in, hoping to slam home, but Greaves gets in ahead of him, hooking clear. In any case, the flag goes up \u2013 correctly \u2013 for offside.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 40 min:<\/strong> Anderson scuffs a shot from 25 yards. It\u2019s deflected as well. No good. Easy for Palmer. But then Matusiwa fluffs a pass upfield, and now Stansfield is gifted a chance to shoot from distance. He drags it wide left.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 38 min:<\/strong> Szmodics is fine to continue.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 37 min:<\/strong> Szmodics sits down so he can get some attention from the physio. As the doc trots on, everyone else migrates to the touchline to get a drink.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 35 min:<\/strong> The officials have had a bit of a shocker so far this evening, to be fair.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 33 min:<\/strong> A free kick for Ipswich in the centre circle, awarded for a fair challenge by Iwata on Hirst. It\u2019s launched towards Davis on the left. Birmingham stand stock-still, playing the offside trap well. But the flag doesn\u2019t go up, and Davis whistles a shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. Just as well that didn\u2019t go in, because Birmingham would have had two reasons to complain. No VAR, you see.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 32 min:<\/strong> Iwata threads a pass down the inside-left channel for Stansfield, who takes a touch to make space in the Ipswich box before leaning back and larruping over the bar. Palmer should have been put to work there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 31 min:<\/strong> The game settles down a bit, with Birmingham now slowing things down a tad, in order to nix Ipswich\u2019s growing influence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 29 min:<\/strong> Neumann pings a long pass down the right channel for Kyogo, who brings the ball down with a deft touch. But O\u2019Shea comes across to block and clear before the striker can get a shot away. Kyogo looks in fine fettle, his old Celtic self, despite that weird interregnum at Rennes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 27 min:<\/strong> Szmodics, out on the left, has the opportunity to find Hirst in space on the edge of the Birmingham box, but misplaces the pass. After the slowest of starts, Ipswich are beginning to impose themselves on this game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 25 min:<\/strong> Allsop shanks a pass straight to Szmodics, in a pocket of space on the edge of the D. You\u2019d expect Szmodics to work the bumbling goalkeeper at the very least, but he slices a wild shot wide left of the target. A huge let-off for the Birmingham keeper.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 24 min:<\/strong> Szmodics wins a ball he had no right to win, out on the left. He loops immediately into the Birmingham box \u2026 but none of his team-mates have kept up with play, and the hosts calmly let the ball bounce away from danger.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min:<\/strong> Stansfield threads a pass down the inside-left channel for Kyogo, who swivels and aims a first-time shot towards the bottom-left corner. Side netting. Palmer then takes his sweet time over the restart. The home fans are on a rolling boil.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.25 EDT<\/p>\n 20 min:<\/strong> O\u2019Shea bangs long down the middle. For a second, it looks as though Szmodics will take the ball under control and tear clear. But just as he\u2019s about to enter the box and shoot \u2026 hello, Neumann! He appears out of nowhere to flick the ball off Szmodics\u2019 toe. Great last-ditch defending.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18 min:<\/strong> Taylor and Osayi-Samuel bundle each other into touch and square up momentarily. It\u2019s over very little, it has to be said. Both are booked.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 16 min:<\/strong> The referee Andrew Kitchen is whistling for anything and everything right now. Neither manager appears particularly happy with his no-contact approach; the crowd are certainly fuming. It\u2019s needlessly stop-start. Plus we\u2019ve already seen a perfectly good goal disallowed as a result of this fussy nonsense.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 min:<\/strong> Iwata shapes to advance down the middle and is shoved crudely in the back by Hirst. Just a free kick, but the foul stopped a Birmingham attack, and could easily have led to the first booking of the season.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 12 min:<\/strong> Birmingham have enjoyed 84 percent of possession so far. Ipswich have been strangely passive.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min:<\/strong> Cochrane whips a cross in from the left. Osayi-Samuel romps in from the other flank but can\u2019t connect. This is a fast, impressive start by Birmingham.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min:<\/strong> An almost identical incident, but this time it\u2019s Greaves nudging Kyogo to shepherd the ball back to his keeper \u2026 and this time no foul is awarded! The home fans are furious, and you can understand why.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.56 EDT<\/p>\n 7 min:<\/strong> Kyogo gently nudges Greaves out of the way, under a long ball, and lobs Palmer elegantly from 25 yards. It should stand as a gloriously cheeky goal, but the referee blows for a foul on Greaves. That\u2019s soft, and very generous to Ipswich.<\/p>\n Birmingham City\u2019s Kyogo Furuhashi (right) fouls Ipswich Town\u2019s Jacob Greaves before scoring only for the goal to be disallowed. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.23 EDT<\/p>\n 5 min:<\/strong> It\u2019s all Birmingham in terms of possession, the home side buzzing around, pressing hard. Ipswich have hardly touched the ball. When they do finally get it, they deliberately slow things down, Johnson taking an age over a throw. Blues boss Chris Davies isn\u2019t happy at these antics, and tells the fourth official how he sees it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min:<\/strong> A bit of time and space for Anderson out on the left. He\u2019s got four team-mates to find in the Ipswich box, but seriously overhits his cross, which sails harmlessly into the stand behind the goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min:<\/strong> A rare old atmosphere at St Andrew\u2019s this evening. Expectation ahoy. A quiet start on the pitch, however.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Blues get the ball rolling.<\/strong> The new Championship<\/a> season is underway!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The teams take to the field of dreams \u2026 and it\u2019s the start of a new season, so let us introduce you to their brand-new threads.<\/strong> Blues will be wearing \u2026 well, you\u2019d think so, wouldn\u2019t you? But their 2025-26 jersey is bluer than just plain old blue: it\u2019s [squints, adjusts spectacles] \u201cHYPER COBALT\u201d. Ipswich sport their red away kit today, but the shoulders and arms have [moves pince-nez down bridge of nose] \u201ca unique pattern created from the current crest to mark 30 years since the club moved to this version\u201d and also an advertising patch which shills their most famous fan\u2019s hot-sauce business. (And so, already, I\u2019ve now made reference to both Brady and Sheeran. I\u2019m sorry. I have failed you.) We\u2019ll be off in a minute.<\/p>\n The Suffolk Punch cut a more graceful figure on Ipswich\u2019s pre-1995 badge. Photograph: Colorsport\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Birmingham boss Chris Davies talks to Sky.<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s the first game \u2026 we have a long season ahead of us \u2026 I was pleased we got a home game \u2026 it\u2019s a bit of a celebration at getting promoted and our first game back at this level \u2026 we can share that with our fans \u2026 we are expecting a really tough match \u2026 the favourites \u2026 a really strong team \u2026 it suits the occasion \u2026 we must prove we can compete \u2026 the next game is the most important one and this is it \u2026 the next league is usually quicker so we tried to address that \u2026 speed and athleticism \u2026 could we get more of that in the team? \u2026 I think we have managed to do that \u2026 more goal threats \u2026 we won a lot of games by just a goal \u2026 set pieces as well \u2026 quality of delivery \u2026 still a way to go before I have a squad that is complete and we are happy with \u2026 we can\u2019t wait for this game to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n Birmingham City fans unveil a banner ahead of the match. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.29 EDT<\/p>\n Birmingham co-owner Tom Wagner is at St Andrew\u2019s tonight, and he chats to Sky Sports.<\/strong> \u201cChris Davies has been unbelievable \u2026 for his first coaching gig to set a points record \u2026 to dominate the way he did is a testament to the way he prepares the team and squad \u2026 keeps them motivated \u2026 very, very pleased with the work he has done \u2026 with Tom Brady there is no such thing as \u2018good enough\u2019, you are either striving for excellence every single day or you may as well find somewhere else to be \u2026 that holds true for every member of the organisation \u2026 that\u2019s what it takes for us to get to where we want to be \u2026 my expectations are that everybody performs at their very best \u2026 every member of staff \u2026 the folks we don\u2019t see every day \u2026 the highest level \u2026 it sounds trite to say it, but that\u2019s the reality \u2026 I certainly will have nothing to offer on who we should recruit, how we should play and what they should do for the 90 minutes, but I can certainly help with the culture and the attitude \u2026 thinking about the game and the experience as a supporter might \u2026 what would I want if I were on the other side of the wall? \u2026 if you keep that mindset and remember the club is theirs and not ours, you get 99 percent of the way there \u2026 we care about this city and the people who live and work here \u2026 I trust people will take me at my word when I say that.\u201d<\/p>\n Birmingham City co-owner Tom Wagner takes a selfie with a fan before getting his chat game on with the Sky Sports crew. Photograph: Nick Potts\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.00 EDT<\/p>\n Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna speaks to Sky, and is asked for his thoughts on his side being favourites for promotion.<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s a positive \u2026 it reflects we\u2019ve done some good things over the last few years \u2026 in the end it doesn\u2019t mean very much, you have to earn the right every game, every week \u2026 there is a lot of work ahead of us \u2026 we are ready for the challenge \u2026 it\u2019s not alien to us \u2026 in League One we were one of the promotion favourites \u2026 our depth isn\u2019t what it needs to be in some positions \u2026 we\u2019re pretty tight \u2026 we expect to be stronger in a few weeks\u2019 time \u2026 [Ajax striker Chuba Akpom] has been well publicised \u2026 it\u2019s one we\u2019re trying to get done \u2026 we\u2019re hoping for good news on that one.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.59 EDT<\/p>\n Birmingham name three debutants in their starting XI.<\/strong> Ky\u014dgo, formerly of Celtic, starts up front, while Bright Osayi-Samuel and Phil Neumann line up at the back. Demarai Gray makes his second debut for his boyhood club, having since played for Leicester, Bayer Leverkusen, Everton and Al-Ittifaq.<\/p>\n Ipswich have one new name in their starting line-up: midfielder Azor Matusiwa.<\/strong> Ashley Young, 40 last month, is on the bench waiting for his first start since his move from Everton.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The teams<\/p>\n Birmingham City:<\/strong> Allsop, Samuel, Klarer, Neumann, Cochrane, Paik, Iwata, Anderson, Stansfield, Gray, Furuhashi. Ipswich Town:<\/strong> Palmer, Johnson, O\u2019Shea, Greaves, Davis, Ogbene, Taylor, Matusiwa, Jack Clarke, Szmodics, Hirst. Referee:<\/strong> Andrew Kitchen (Durham).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.01 EDT<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n Birmingham City and Ipswich Town return to the Championship tonight, albeit from different directions, and possibly therefore in different moods.<\/strong> Birmingham slummed it in League One last season, racking up 111 points on their way to the second third-tier title in their history; meanwhile Ipswich, having reached the Premier League arguably ahead of schedule, won just four games all season and were cashiered back from whence they came.<\/p>\n Ipswich\u2019s sorry fate won\u2019t have any bearing on the ambitions of these two clubs.<\/strong> Town want to bounce back to the top flight immediately, and are the short-priced favourites to win this division; Birmingham fancy following in Ipswich\u2019s footsteps, given the Tractor Boys were the last team to leap from League One to the Premier League with successive promotions, and they\u2019re third-favourites in the race for glory. Everyone can work out how to stay in the Premier League when they get there.<\/p>\n An exciting way to begin the Championship<\/a> season, then.<\/strong> The match kicks off at 8pm UK time, and if we can get through the entire evening without reference to either Tom Brady or Ed Sheeran that\u2019ll also be great.<\/p>\n
Subs: Beadle, Laird, Bielik, Cashin, Leonard, Doyle, Gardner-Hickman, Willumsson, Dykes.<\/p>\n
Subs: Walton, Kipre, Woolfenden, Chaplin, Young, Al Hamadi, Humphreys, Broadhead, Barbrook.<\/p>\n