The action continues in round 32 of the EFL Championship as Birmingham City and Sunderland square off at the St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium on Saturday.
Having won the last three meetings between the sides, the Black Cats will head into the weekend looking to complete a second consecutive league double over the hosts.
Birmingham City picked up three huge points in their battle at the bottom end of the Championship table as they scraped a 1-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.
Prior to that, Tony Mowbray’s men were on a three-game losing streak, including a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth round on January 27.
With 35 points from 31 matches, Birmingham City are currently 18th in the league table, six points above the relegation zone.
Sunderland, on the other hand, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Wednesday.
The Black Cats were previously on a three-match unbeaten run, picking up two wins and one draw in that time.
With 47 points from 32 matches, Sunderland are currently 10th in the league table, one point behind sixth-placed Coventry City in the final playoff spot.
Birmingham City vs Sunderland Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- With 56 wins from the last 123 meetings between the sides, Sunderland boast a superior record in the history of this fixture.
- Birmingham City have picked up 43 wins in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 24 occasions.
- Sunderland have won their last three games against Mowbray’s men and are unbeaten in five of their last six meetings, claiming four wins and one draw since August 2014.
- Birmingham are unbeaten in their last four home matches across all competitions, claiming two wins and two draws since a 3-1 loss against Stoke City on Boxing Day.
- The Black Cats have failed to win their last four away games, picking up just two points from a possible 12 since December's 1-0 victory at Hull City.
Birmingham City vs Sunderland Prediction
Buoyed by their impressive victory over Blackburn, Birmingham City will head into the weekend with renewed confidence as they look to move into the mid-table positions.
The Blues have been rock-solid at home in recent weeks and we are backing them to come away with a narrow victory against a Sunderland side who have struggled to get going on their travels.
Prediction: Birmingham City 2-1 Sunderland
Birmingham City vs Sunderland Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Birmingham to win
Tip 2: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have scored in their last five encounters)
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have also been three or more goals scored in five of the last six meetings between the two teams)