Stoke City vs Birmingham
EFL Championship
Saturday
20th January 2024
Bet365 Stadium
The most comprehensive preview, detailed analysis and reliable predictions of the EFL Championship fixture between Stoke City and Birmingham.
Stoke City vs Birmingham: Preview
Stoke City form analysis
The Potters’ recent Championship form has been reasonably solid if unspectacular. Two wins, two draws and a loss from their past five matches. This steady run began with an impressive 3-1 away victory at Birmingham City on December 26th with goals from Jacob Thompson, Lyndon Gooch and Andre Vidigal key in an excellent attacking display. Stoke then drew 1-1 away to Watford three days later, relying on Rabih Mmaee to cancel out Jason Livermore’s opener.
The Potters started the New Year frustratingly however as they were held to a goalless home draw by Ipswich despite dominating on January 1st. Building on their defensive stability, Stoke ground out another narrow victory in their next match, edging Rotherham 1-0 away from home thanks to Liam Baker’s first half strike. Based on these tight results, Stoke have proven typically hard to beat, built on defensive discipline and set piece threats, but still lack a cutting edge from open play in the final third.
Birmingham form analysis
Birmingham City’s recent Championship form has been poor. No wins, three draws and two losses from their past five matches. This disappointing run began with an eventful 3-3 home draw against Plymouth Argyle on December 23rd in an open game where defensive issues were apparent. Things worsened as Birmingham fell to a 3-1 home loss against Stoke three days later as their defense buckled again. A goalless home draw with Bristol City on December 30th provided little festive joy either.
The new year opened painfully as Birmingham were outclassed 3-0 away to Leeds United on January 1st, struggling to contain their rampant hosts on another sobering afternoon. Most recently, Birmingham showed character to battle back twice and draw 2-2 at home with Swansea City on January 13th, led by an excellent display from midfield prodigy Jobe Bellingham. But defensive fragilities undermined them late on again. With porous defending undermining encouraging attacking play, the manager must address these flaws quickly to ignite Birmingham’s season.
