Birmingham v Sunderland predictions: St Andrew's stalemate on the cards

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Birmingham v Sunderland in the Championship on Friday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Football, 8pm

Best bet

Draw
1pt 23-10 Boyles

Team news

Birmingham
Harlee Dean is a major doubt. Krystian Bielik returns from a ban. Nico Gordon, Marc Roberts, Craig Gardner and Przemyslaw Placheta are out.

Sunderland
Right-back Luke O'Nien is suspended. Defenders Aji Alese and Dan Ballard, wing-back Lynden Gooch, midfielder Edouard Michut and top scorer Ross Stewart are still out.

Preview

Blues boss John Eustace was left to lament the fixture schedule after Tuesday night's gutsy 2-2 draw with Swansea, and it certainly appears to be working against his club.

Birmingham have less than three days to dust themselves down before taking on Sunderland, who will be fresher having been spared any midweek action.

Certainly that's a tick in the Black Cats' box, yet Eustace is fully aware that his Birmingham team are nothing if not battlers.

They've lost only two of their last 13 as they defy pre-season forecasts of doom and four of their last six games at St Andrews have ended in stalemates. That may well read five in seven after this fixture.

Birmingham looked out on their feet on Tuesday night although they can make one or two tweaks, notably the return of pivotal midfielder Krystian Bielik from a ban.

And Sunderland have issues of their own. They have scored just 13 goals in the 12 games that they've been without ace marksman Ross Stewart, while they are also undergoing a defensive reshuffle with Luke O'Nien suspended.

Trai Hume, his likely replacement, has started only once this term and Sunderland shipped four that day, against Burnley.

Sunderland have won only two of their last ten and those successes were against Wigan and Huddersfield, the current bottom two.

The six-day break since a 1-0 home loss to Cardiff is beneficial but their form is less encouraging and this last assignment before the World Cup break could easily fall flat.

Key stat

Birmingham have drawn four of their last six home matches

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