Birmingham City vs Reading

Birmingham City and Reading are set to lock horns at St. Andrew’s Stadium in a high-stakes mid-table Championship showdown.

Birmingham City returned to Championship action following a four-week break for the World Cup with a dull 0-0 draw at Blackpool last weekend. Despite extending their winless league streak to three matches (D2, L1), the ‘Blues’ have steered five points away from the drop zone and could now even dream of breaking into the playoff picture. Seeking a Premier League return for the first time since their fateful 2010/11 top-flight relegation season, John Eustace’s men currently hover five points adrift of sixth-placed Preston North End. So Birmingham can ill-afford to drop points here, even though they’ve only won one of their last five home league outings (D3, L1). But that’s easier said than done, considering they’ve suffered four defeats across their six previous Championship home clashes against Reading (W2).

On the other hand, Reading eked out a narrow 1-0 triumph against Coventry City last time out, making it two Championship wins in a row and roaring their way back into playoff contention. With only two points separating them from the playoff line, the ‘Royals’ will be out to build on a 2-1 win at Hull City on their most recent Championship travel, which helped them arrest a dreadful run of five winless away league matches (D1, L4). Omen looks good from Paul Ince’s perspective, given that the last time Reading won back-to-back away league matches in November 2021, one of the victories came at St. Andrew’s Stadium. But it’s far from rosy for the visitors, especially considering they’ve netted a measly average of 0.72 goals per away league fixture this season.