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Birmingham City will invite second-placed Ipswich Town to St Andrew's in the EFL Championship on Saturday.
The hosts have endured a poor run of form in the league, losing three games in a row. Last week, Jay Stansfield scored a consolation goal in the second half as they fell to a 3-1 away loss to Southampton. With three losses in a row, they have dropped to 14th place in the league table with 18 points to their name.
The visitors are unbeaten in their last nine league games, recording eight wins. They made it four wins on the trot last week, registering a 3-2 home win over Plymouth Argyle. They remain five points behind league leaders Leicester City and have a match in hand.
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They failed to continue their form in the Carabao Cup, suffering a 3-1 loss to Fulham in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Birmingham City vs Ipswich Town Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off 83 times in all competitions, with their last meeting coming in the Championship in 2019. They have contested these meetings closely, with the visitors having a 35-30 lead in wins and 18 games ending in draws.
- The hosts have suffered just one defeat in their last eight meetings against the visitors, with that loss coming away from home in 2017.
- They last met in the 2018-19 EFL Championship campaign, with both games ending in draws.
- Birmingham City are unbeaten in their last six home meetings against Ipswich Town, recording three wins and drawing three times.
- Ipswich are unbeaten in their seven away games this term, keeping four clean sheets in that period.
- The visitors have the joint-best attacking record in the Championship, scoring 29 goals in 13 games, though just seven of these have come in six away games.
Birmingham City vs Ipswich Town Prediction
The Blues have suffered just one defeat at home in the Championship this season and four of their five wins have also come at home. They have lost just one of their last 19 home meetings against the visitors.
Wayne Rooney has a lengthy injury list heading into the match as Ethan Laird, Alfie Chang, Lee Buchanan, George Hall, Tyler Roberts, and Keshi Anderson have been struggling with fitness.
The Tractor Boys have suffered just two defeats across all competitions this season, with both coming in home games. They have won six of their seven away games this term and will look to continue that form in this match. They head into the match on a four-game winning run in the Championship, scoring 11 times while conceding four times.
Axel Tuanzebe made his debut for the club after recovering from an injury while Freddie Ladapo also started in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. Wes Burns and Lee Evans are the only confirmed absentees for the visitors.
Considering the current form of the two teams and the visitors' unbeaten away record this term, we expect Ipswich to record a comfortable win.
Prediction: Birmingham City 0-2 Ipswich Town.
Birmingham City vs Ipswich Town Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Ipswich to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Ipswich to keep a clean sheet - Yes
Tip 4: George Hirst to score or assist any time - Yes
