Birminghamvs.Charlton

Blues enjoyed a routine success over bottom side Cambridge United earlier in the week, whilst the Addicks' good form continued against Peterborough United.

Match preview

After a sensational five-goal thriller in the fourth round of the FA Cup against Champions League-chasing Newcastle United last Saturday, Birmingham returned to the dayjob of League One on Tuesday night, when former boss Garry Monk brought lowly Cambridge to the Second City.

Boosted by the returns of Paik Seung-ho and Willum Willumsson to the starting XI, Blues overwhelmed the helpless U's in the first period to build a three-goal advantage, before Luke Harris found the net in the second period to secure the hosts' biggest third-tier victory of the campaign.

It was arguably only a matter of time before Birmingham inflicted a serious beating on one of their League One counterparts, with Chris Davies's control-obsessed juggernauts now 11 points ahead of third-placed Wrexham in the third-tier standings, despite having played a game fewer.

Whilst some forward-looking Bluenoses will be fantasising about wrapping up an immediate return to the Championship as early as March, Davies's men are taking things one game at a time as they look to emulate the class of 1994-95, who won both League One and the EFL Trophy.

The backbone of Birmingham's success so far this season, 14 league matches have passed at St Andrew's without defeat for the runaway leaders, with only Premier League clubs Fulham and Newcastle earning victories on the blue side of the Second City this campaign.

Following a sobering 16th-placed finish in the third tier of English football last term - the club's lowest in well over a decade - Charlton are threatening to mount a serious promotion push during the final stages of this season, with Saturday's visitors one of the in-form sides in League One.

Since a 4-2 defeat at Rotherham United on January 18, the Addicks have enjoyed a six-game unbeaten spell, a run which includes back-to-back wins at The Valley over Stevenage and Peterborough recently, allowing the capital-based club to move towards the upper echelons of the division.

Collecting a highly-commendable 16 points from their last six third-tier battles, Charlton have propelled themselves up to fifth in the League One table ahead of Saturday's daunting trip to fortress St Andrew's, three points clear of fellow Londoners Leyton Orient in seventh spot.

Losing last season's Golden Boot winner Alfie May to Birmingham over the summer, the Addicks have been thankful for the talents of veteran Matty Godden in attack this campaign, with the former Coventry City bagsman scoring 10 goals across 26 league appearances to date.

Facing a team who are unbeaten on their own patch so far this term, there will be understandable trepidation amongst the Charlton fanbase this weekend, although Nathan Jones's men are one of only two sides to defeat Blues in League One after nullifying the threat of the title favourites at The Valley in early October.

Birmingham City League One form:

W

W

D

W

W

W

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

D

W

W

W

L

W

Charlton Athletic League One form:

W

W

W

D

W

W

Team News

Forced off during the second half of the Cambridge mauling on Tuesday night, Birmingham defender Christoph Klarer is a doubt for this weekend due to a back issue.

In the eventuality that the towering Austrian is unable to feature, club captain Krystian Bielik is likely to partner Ben Davies at centre-back.

Marc Leonard is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks because of a deep cut to his knee, whilst Taylor Gardner-Hickman is another midfield star in the medical room for Blues at this moment.

Finding the net for Charlton during the win over Peterborough last time out, centre-back Macauley Gillesphey is set to partner Lloyd Jones in defence once again.

After helping to limit the influence of Paik and Tomoki Iwata on proceedings in the reverse fixture, a combative midfield of Conor Coventry and Greg Docherty will be looking to repeat the trick on Saturday.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Laird, Bielik, Davies, Cochrane, Iwata, Paik, Wright, Willumsson, Anderson; Stansfield

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Maynard-Brewer; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty, Small, Berry, Campbell; Godden

We say: Birmingham City 1-0 Charlton Athletic

Following the ease of victory against Cambridge earlier in the week, Birmingham should expect a harder test from in-form Charlton this weekend.

Written by

Carter White

Previews by email