Sports Mole previews Saturday’s League One clash between Birmingham City and Peterborough United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Striving to extend their unbeaten record at the start of the league campaign to seven matches, title favourites Birmingham City will welcome playoff-chasing Peterborough United to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in League One on Saturday afternoon.
Blues have passed two stern third-tier tests with flying colours since returning from the international break, whilst Posh are building positive momentum following a difficult pair of matches at the beginning of their competitive schedule.
Match preview
© Imago
Following the 3-1 victory over Wrexham at St Andrew’s last Monday, the Birmingham City juggernaut rolled up to the AESSEAL New York Stadium on September 21, when first-half goals from Deadline Day arrivals Jay Stansfield and Tomoki Iwata sealed a comfortable 2-0 win over Rotherham United.
Described by Millers boss Steve Evans as the Galacticos of League One, Blues are showing why they are the overwhelming favourites to clinch an immediate return to the Championship, with Saturday’s hosts the only side in the division who are yet to be defeated after six matches.
Although the £20m signing of Fulham prodigy Stansfield stole the headlines during the final stages of the summer window, it is a third-tier stalwart who leads the goalscoring charts for Birmingham, with former Charlton Athletic marksman Alfie May bagging four goals in six appearances so far this season.
Blues possess attacking talent to blow teams away in League One, however it is their level of control in terms of possession which currently stands out as their main strength, with a midfield pairing of ex-Celtic star Iwata and South Korea international Paik Seung-ho evidently a class above their third-tier counterparts.
After a maiden League One clean sheet of the term at Rotherham last weekend, Birmingham will be desperate to record a shutout in front of a sold-out St Andrew’s crowd against Peterborough, who have fired in an impressive eight strikes across their last four games in all competitions.
© Imago
Since a 2-0 home defeat to newly-promoted Wrexham on the final day of August, Peterborough United have strung together a four-game unbeaten run across League One and the EFL Trophy, giving supporters hope that this season could be the one in which their side finally earns promotion to the Championship.
Posh matches have been very entertaining over the past week, with Saturday’s visitors to the Second City winning a five-goal thriller versus Bristol Rovers last weekend before a goal-laden share of the spoils at the home of Leyton Orient on Tuesday night in the capital.
A quickfire Peterborough double during the closing stages of the second period from Malik Mothersille and talisman Kwame Poku put the visitors ahead in London after Tom James‘s opener, although the O’s snatched a point in the final 45 courtesy of Charlie Kelman‘s third of the term.
Collecting a respectable total of 11 points from their first seven League One fixtures, Posh currently occupy eighth spot in the third-tier standings, level on points with sixth-placed Lincoln City and five behind this weekend’s opponents Birmingham, who sit in second place.
Peterborough will be looking to extend their unbeaten run against Blues to four matches on Saturday, with the most recent meeting between the sides resulting in a 3-2 success for Posh during a pre-season friendly in the summer of 2023.
Birmingham City League One form:
Birmingham City form (all competitions):
Peterborough United League One form:
Peterborough United form (all competitions):
Team News
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Netting three goals in his opening two league matches back in the Second City, Birmingham’s Stansfield will be causing problems for the Peterborough backline on Saturday afternoon.
May was rested from the start at Rotherham due to a slight illness, but it is difficult to imagine last season’s League One Golden Boot winner sitting on the bench once again.
Suspended for the trip to Rotherham, Krystian Bielik is likely to return and captain the team alongside Christoph Klarer, meaning that Ben Davies should drop to the bench.
Dion Sanderson is back in training following a foot injury but faces a hard time getting back into a defence that kept their first League One clean sheet last time out.
Replaced during the half-time interval on Tuesday night, Oscar Wallin could drop out of the Peterborough XI to make room for Sam Curtis.
Looking to cause his Second City rivals third-tier woes, former Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer will start in between the sticks for Posh.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Gardner-Hickman, Bielik, Klarer, Cochrane; Paik, Iwata, May, Willumsson, Hansson; Stansfield
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Steer; Fernandez, Katongo, Curtis; Ajiboye, Randall, Kyprianou, Sparkes; Poku, Jones, Mothersille
We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Peterborough United
Scoring five goals across their last two matches, Peterborough should pose a significant threat on the counter at St Andrew’s this weekend.
Birmingham could have to deal with a setback if Poku is on form for Posh, although we believe that Blues will narrowly earn their sixth straight league victory in the end.
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