Blackburn and Birmingham return to action in the Championship when they square off at Ewood Park on Saturday. Both sides head into the game off the back of contrasting results in the EFL Cup, with the Blues claiming a hard-earned home victory over Sheffield United.
Football Whisper’s Blackburn vs Birmingham prediction examines the chances of both sides securing all three points this weekend.
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Blackburn vs Birmingham: Goal galore on the cards
Key stats
- Birmingham are unbeaten in their last eight competitive matches, picking up six wins and two draws since April’s 2-0 loss against Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy.
- Blackburn have failed to win five of their most recent seven home games across all competitions (3L, 2D) since the start of February.
- Birmingham are on a run of six consecutive away victories, scoring 11 goals and conceding four since a 1-1 draw against Northampton Town on March 15.
- The last five meetings between Blackburn and Birmingham at Ewood Park have produced a combined 24 goals, with the hosts scoring 17, compared to the Blues’ seven.
Correct score prediction: Blackburn 2-2 Birmingham
Still licking their wounds from their cup exit, Blackburn will head into the weekend looking to restore some pride by securing their first win of the campaign. However, the Riversiders now go up against a spirited Birmingham side who will be looking to build on their cup victory and we predict the visitors will hold out for a share of the spoils.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Both sides likely to share the spoils
- HOME: 2/1 (3.00) – 33.3%
- DRAW: 23/10 (3.30) – 30.4%
- AWAY: 113/10 (2.30) – 43.5%
*Odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
The bookmakers have Birmingham as favourites to come out on top on Saturday as they go up against a Blackburn side who have stumbled into the new campaign.
Compared to Blackburn’s 33.3%, Birmingham boasts a 43.5% win probability, while there is a 30.4% chance of the two teams settling for a share of the spoils.
Blackburn suffered a first-round exit from the EFL Cup on Tuesday when they fell to a somewhat disappointing 2-1 defeat against Bradford on home turf.
Birmingham, meanwhile, secured their first win of the 2025-26 campaign on Wednesday when they edged out Sheffield United 2-1 at St. Andrew's Stadium.
For more from the upcoming Championship fixtures, today’s free football betting tips take a look at some of the best picks from Football Whispers.
Most recent H2Hs: Blackburn the superior side
Blackburn boasts the upper hand in this fixture over the last 10 meetings, having recorded seven wins, five more than Birmingham’s two.
The Riversiders are unbeaten in their last 10 home games against Birmingham, picking up six wins and four draws since a 3-2 loss in December 2013.
England Championship 13/02/24
Birmingham
Blackburn
England Championship 29/11/23
Blackburn
Birmingham
England Championship 01/04/23
Birmingham
Blackburn
England FA Cup 31/01/23
Birmingham
Blackburn
England FA Cup 28/01/23
Blackburn
Birmingham
Blackburn Preview: Aiming to get off and running
For the first time since the 2021-22 campaign, Blackburn were dumped out of the EFL Cup in the first round as they fell to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Bradford.
Blackburn were made to rue their wasteful display in front of goal as Ibou Touray and Will Swan netted inside the opening four minutes to put Bradford in front before Dion De Neve pulled one back on the stroke of half time.
This came just three days after Valerien Ismael’s men kicked off the season with a 1-0 defeat against 10-man West Bromwich Albion in the Championship curtain-raiser at the Hawthorns courtesy of a first-half strike from Isaac Price.
Having narrowly missed out on a place in the playoffs last season, the Riversiders will head into the weekend looking to get up and running in the new campaign as they eye a return to the top flight for the first time since 2012.
Blackburn picked up 66 points from 46 Championship matches to finish seventh in the league standings last term, just two points off sixth-placed Bristol City in the final playoff spot.
Predicted lineup: Toth (GK), Alebiosu, Hyam, McLoughlin, Ribeiro, Hedges, Travis, Henriksson, Tronstad, De Neve & Yuki
England Championship 03/05/25
D
Sheff Utd
1
Blackburn
1
England Championship 26/04/25
W
Watford
1
Blackburn
2
England Championship 21/04/25
W
Sunderland
0
Blackburn
1
England Championship 18/04/25
W
Millwall
1
Blackburn
4
England Championship 12/04/25
W
Luton
0
Blackburn
1
Birmingham preview: Attacking duo miss out through injury
Birmingham left late in their EFL Cup opener against Sheffield United on Wednesday when they picked up a 2-1 victory over the Blades at St. Andrew's Stadium.
Gustavo Hamer struck in the 72nd minute to cancel out Kyogo Furuhashi’s first-half strike and pull Sheffield level, but substitute Jay Stansfield netted three minutes away from full-time to send the hosts through to the second round.
Prior to that, Birmingham were left spitting feathers in the league opener against Ipswich Town on August 8, when George Hirst struck in the 95th minute to cancel out Stansfield’s 55th-minute opener.
With their midweek cup win, Chris Davies’s men have gone eight straight competitive matches without defeat across all competitions (6W, 2D), a run which saw them clinch promotion from League One last term after clinching the league title with 111 points from 46 games.
Birmingham will head into Saturday’s game without the attacking duo of Scott Wight and 31-year-old Marvin Ducksch, who have been sidelined through knee and calf injuries respectively.
Predicted lineup: Allsop (GK), Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Neumann, Cochrane, Paik, Iwata, Anderson, Stansfield, Gray & 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
Player to watch – Jay Stansfield
Jay Stansfield scored 19 league goals to lead Birmingham to the League One title last season, and the 22-year-old has wasted no time picking up where he left off.
Stansfield scored the winner against Sheffield in the EFL Cup five days after grabbing his side's only goal in a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town.
Consequently, he has now scored three of Birmingham's last four goals dating back to preseason and will be heavily relied upon once again to provide attacking firepower.