League One champions Birmingham City face Premier League relegated Ipswich Town at St Andrews with both sides eyeing for a return to the top tier this season
The EFL Championship begins this season with a huge six-pointer already in the title (and promotion) race as newly-promoted Birmingham City welcome Ipswich Town at St Andrews with both sides eyeing for a spot in the Premier League at the first time of asking. The hosts will be looking to maintain their momentum and are widely expected to be in the promotion race while Ipswich are widely-tipped to be in pole position in the title race.
Both sides are widely tipped for promotion and even part of a potential four-way title race based on the bookies early odds ahead of the Championship opener. With no Liam Delap after his Chelsea transfer, Kieran McKenna will be looking at the likes of Sammie Szmodics and Omari Hutchinson to step up to prove why the Tractor Boys are the favourites while Birmingham’s heavily invested squad features the likes of Jay Stansfield who cruised through the League One’s defences last season.
Both sides will be looking to getting the upper-hand on their promotion rivals this early on and could really put them ahead of the other for months if one of these sides get all three points come the final whistle on Friday night.
Birmingham vs Ipswich Preview
After a dominant League One campaign that saw Birmingham City amass a record 111 points under Chris Davies, expectations are running high at St. Andrew’s. Backed by chairman Tom Wagner and minority owner Tom Brady, the Blues have moved decisively in the transfer market. Big-money arrivals include Kyogo Furuhashi, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alfons Sampsted, while loan deals have brought in James Beadle, Eiran Cashin and Tommy Doyle. The club has also secured free agents Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann, Kanya Fujimoto and Demarai Gray—who returns to his boyhood side after stints across England and Europe.
Their pre-season preparations featured four wins from seven matches, capped by a narrow victory over Nottingham Forest. With an unbeaten home record in last season’s League One campaign (19 wins and four draws), Birmingham will be keen to turn St. Andrew’s into a fortress once again as they return to the Championship.
Ipswich Town’s Premier League adventure proved short-lived as Kieran McKenna’s side finished 19th, well adrift of safety. Now back in the Championship, Ipswich are determined to challenge for promotion at the first attempt. The summer has seen key departures including captain Sam Morsy and striker Liam Delap, but new faces Azor Matusiwa, Cedric Kipre, Ashley Young and David Button have arrived to strengthen the squad.
Ipswich come into Friday’s fixture buoyed by four straight pre-season wins over BW Linz, Aberdeen, Charlton Athletic and Auxerre. However, their recent record at St. Andrew’s offers little encouragement—they have not won away at Birmingham since November 2012.
Birmingham vs Ipswich Odds
- Birmingham – 7/5
- Draw – 21/10
- Ipswich – 15/8
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Birmingham vs Ipswich Betting Tips
- Jay Stansfield to score anytime – 2/1
- Over 2.5 goals – 21/20
- Both teams to score – 4/5
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