Birmingham and Oxford are bound to meet in the third round of the EFL Championship on Saturday, 23 August.
Will the hosts keep their undefeated streak alive after this match or will the guests spoil their party? Read our Birmingham vs Oxford prediction and preview to learn more about this game, but remember to also check our other Championship predictions.
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Birmingham vs Oxford prediction: Stansfield to lead the hosts to a win
Key Stats
- Oxford United have scored at least one goal in two of their three games this season.
- Jay Stansfield has started the new season well, scoring a goal in all three games played by Birmingham in the Championship and the EFL Cup.
- Last season in League One, Stansfield scored 19 goals in 37 appearances.
Correct score prediction: Birmingham 3-1 Oxford
The Blues are off to a hot start of the new season, which was expected from a team that's among the favourites to earn promotion to the top flight, while Oxford United have lost both of their Championship matches so far.
With Birmingham also hosting this game, we can't see the guests avoiding another loss and 3-1 sounds like a reasonable outcome since Birmingham haven't been able to keep a clean sheet this season yet.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Birmingham the clear favourites
- HOME: 1/2 (1.50) – 66.70%
- DRAW: 16/5 (4.20) – 23.80%
- AWAY: 11/2 (6.50) – 15.40%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
We can see from these Birmingham vs Oxford odds that the hosts are the expected winners, which isn't surprising at all considering Birmingham's good run of form to start the new season, along with the fact that they're hosting the game.
In any case, if you liked our predictions for this game, remember to also check our betting tips for today.
Most recent H2Hs: Long time no see
It's been a while since these two teams last met each other since their previous meeting was back in 2017. In any case, in their last five meetings, Birmingham have notched a couple of wins, Oxford won once, and two games have ended in a draw.
When it comes to their overall H2H record, Birmingham have a slight advantage: 10-8-8.
Club Friendly List 22/07/17
Oxford Utd
Birmingham
England EFL Cup 09/08/16
Birmingham
Oxford Utd
Birmingham preview: On a good run and hoping for more
After demolishing their competition in League One last season, setting the world record for most points won in a season in the process, Birmingham were touted as one of the main candidates for promotion to the Premier League. To their credit, they have started well with a win and a draw in the first two Championship rounds, along with a win over Sheffield United in the EFL Cup.
When it comes to team news, Marvin Ducksch and Scott Wright are out with injuries at this time.
Predicted lineup: Allsop (GK), Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane, Gray, Paik, Iwata, Anderson, Stansfield & Furuhashi
England League 1 03/05/25
W
Cambridge Utd
1
Birmingham
2
England League 1 30/04/25
W
Blackpool
0
Birmingham
2
England League 1 27/04/25
W
Mansfield
0
Birmingham
4
England League 1 24/04/25
W
Stevenage
0
Birmingham
1
England League 1 21/04/25
W
Burton Albion
1
Birmingham
2
Oxford United preview: Hoping for a good performance
The U's have struggled in the first two rounds of the new Championship season and lost both of their games, against Hull and Portsmouth, although they were in those matches until the end. At the bright side, Oxford managed to beat Colchester in their EFL Cup duel and they'll hope to replicate some of that against Birmingham on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ciaron Brown, Przemyslaw Placheta, Brian De Keersmaecker, Luke Harris, and Ole Romeny are all on the team's injury list ahead of this match.
Predicted lineup: Cumming (GK), Spencer, Helik, Moore, Leigh, Mills, Vaulks, Brannagan, Goodrham, Harris & Lankshear
England Championship 03/05/25
D
Swansea
3
Oxford Utd
3
England Championship 26/04/25
W
Sunderland
0
Oxford Utd
2
England Championship 21/04/25
D
Cardiff
1
Oxford Utd
1
England Championship 18/04/25
L
Leeds
1
Oxford Utd
0
England Championship 12/04/25
W
Sheff Wed
0
Oxford Utd
1
Player to watch: Jay Stansfield
We already suggested backing Stansfield to score in this game, so he's clearly our player to watch. After all, with three goals in three matches this season, he is the focus of Birmingham's attack and Oxford will have to find a way to stop Stansfield if they want to get a good result here.