Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship fixture between Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, including predictions, teams news and possible lineups.

This Saturday, Birmingham City welcome Garry Monk's Sheffield Wednesday side as they hope to extend their four-match unbeaten streak.

The Owls will be looking to put consecutive defeats behind them and get a result that will see them gain ground on those above them in the table.

Match preview

Birmingham City manager Aitor Karanka pictured on September 12, 2020 © Reuters

Though they can only boast one win from their first four, the Blues have shown sturdy form which has been largely fuelled by a stingy defensive record.

City have only conceded three goals in their first fives games in all competitions, a trait that has been synonymous with Aitor Karanka's sides in recent times.

As a result, Birmingham lie seventh in the table and will be eyeing three points against an inconsistent Sheffield Wednesday, ahead of a congested fixture run.

City now have seven games in 21 days, including trips to Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers - a run of fixtures that will surely test their promotion credentials.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk pictured on September 15, 2019 © Reuters

Former Birmingham boss Monk brings his Owls to his old stomping ground on Saturday and will hope that the international break brings a change in form for his struggling side.

It will be the second time Monk has returned to the Blues following his departure from the club in June last year, with the first meeting ending in a 3-3 draw.

Wednesday have had a promising start to the season, having gained four points from their opening two fixtures, including a win over Cardiff City and a hard-fought draw against Watford, but have since slipped to two defeats from two.

Monk will not welcome distractions such as club captain Barry Bannan's rumoured move to Brentford. Though both clubs are yet to come to any agreement, Wednesday will likely look to stall any deal given the short period of time they will have to find a replacement. Bannan has 12 months left on his contract.

Birmingham City Championship form: WDDD
Birmingham City form (all competitions): LWDDD

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: WDLD
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions): WWDLLD

Team News

Athletic Bilbao's Mikel San Jose battles Lionel Messi for possession in 2018 © Reuters

Former Athletic Bilbao favourite Mikel San Jose could be set for his Birmingham City debut. The 31-year-old is yet to feature for Aitor Karanka's men having only recently joined up with his teammates despite signing around three weeks ago.

Jonathan Leko has also joined up with the first-team squad as he recovers from 10 months on the sideline following a serious knee injury.

Blues will hope Jeremie Bela is fully-fit once he returns from international duty with Angola, who played Mozambique in Portugal on Tuesday. Josh McEachran is the only long-term absentee.

Monk will have to wait on the fitness of several first-team players, with reports suggesting that quintet Dominic Iorfa (hamstring), Liam Palmer (back), Tom Lees (groin), Izzy Brown (knee) and Liam Shaw (ankle) are all doubts for the game.

With this number of absentees expected, defender Osaze Urhoghide (knee) will likely return but centre-back Chey Dunkley remains a long-term absentee with a serious leg injury.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Colin, Dean, Friend, Pedersen; Sanchez, Clayton, Sunjic, Bela; Hogan, Jutkiewicz

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Van Aken, Urhoghide, Shaw; Reach, Luongo, Bannan, Harris, Dele-Bashiru; Windass, Paterson

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We say: Birmingham City 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Saturday's trip to St Andrew's is set to be a tough challenge for the injury-riddled Owls. City have looked solid so far this season and we see it only being a matter of time before they break down Wednesday's patched-up backline in what is likely to be a comfortable home win.

Top betting 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.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Birmingham City win with a probability of 39.61%. A win for Sheffield Wednesday had a probability of 33.26% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Birmingham City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.37%) and 2-0 (7.16%). The likeliest Sheffield Wednesday win was 0-1 (9.89%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.86%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood.