Two sides who are expected to fight down at the bottom once again will meet this Friday night as Birmingham City welcomes Derby County to St. Andrew's with both teams witnessing slightly contrasting starts to the season.
The Rams will be counting their blessings each day they are in the division this campaign, with the club both narrowly avoiding the drop last season, just weeks before they were almost launched into League One anyway due to financial difficulties.
"What a thumping strike from the Croatian!" 💥Sunjic ⓥ 🐏 | #TBT pic.twitter.com/Ca0loSxlfI— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) September 9, 2021
"What a thumping strike from the Croatian!" 💥Sunjic ⓥ 🐏 | #TBT pic.twitter.com/Ca0loSxlfI
Still in the Championship, however, things haven’t exactly improved that much for Wayne Rooney’s men. They are currently 15th in the Championship and with just the one win from five games so far, many are still tipping them for League One action next season.
Nevertheless, Rooney’s squad do still boast one win in the second tier so far, beating the newly-promoted Hull City 1-0 back in August, but this does now mean Derby are winless in their last three games since that win.
A goalless draw with Middlesbrough, a 2-1 defeat in the EFL Cup to Sheffield United, and a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest would see the Rams’ form drop almost immediately and a win here has become vital if they are to get out of an early relegation battle.
As for Birmingham, their torrid end to last season has become a little easier to forget with their change in form, as the Blues now boast two wins from their first five games, and with seven goals so far, only Cardiff City have netted more than them from outside the top six.
Much of this better form has been due to the goals coming back in across the field, with seven different goalscorers all getting in on the act over the past few weeks, which also includes Scott Hogan's two goals which puts him just five off his record for last season already.
Lee Bowyer’s men are, however, winless since their 5-0 thrashing of Luton Town, as they lost 2-0 to Fulham in the EFL Cup just before they were held to a 1-1 draw with the struggling Barnsley. This has slightly reminded Blues fans not to get ahead of themselves.
It’s expected to be a close game this one with the form of the two clubs near enough the same, while it is predicted by many that these two will still battle it out towards the bottom end of the 2021/22 Championship table.
Forebet predicts a draw here once again in the second tier, which will also see under 2.5 goals scored.