Sky Sports EFL pundit David Prutton has predicted that Birmingham City's recent frustration will continue and they will fail to win for the sixth game in a row when they welcome Barnsley to St Andrew's this evening. 

The Blues' last victory came back in October and they've since lost twice and drawn three on the bounce.

Barnsley are on a bad recent run of their own, with the defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday their second in a row, but it seems that might be set to end.

In his predictions for Sky Sports, Prutton has forecasted a 1-0 victory for the Tykes.

He explained: "I was surprised when I saw that, with four defeats from 14 games, Birmingham have lost the fewest matches of any team in the bottom half of the table, despite sitting down in 17th place. Though they are winless in five, the Blues have drawn their last three but they seem to lack the necessary ruthlessness to kill games off.

"The purple patch that followed Valerien Ismael's appointment at Oakwell has begun to fade away somewhat over the last week but I think his side may just have enough to edge this one."

That result could see Barnsley move into the top half of the Championship, while Birmingham may slip further toward the bottom three.

Much of the focus ahead of the game for the Blues is likely to surround recent signing Alen Halilovic, who could be set to make his debut.

Beyond the absences of Ben Williams and Mike-Steven Bähre, the Tykes look likely to have a clean bill of health for their visit to the Second City.

Which club did Birmingham City sign each of these 25 players from?

 

 

The Verdict

The Blues will be desperate for a win this evening, particularly against a Barnsley side that are only above them in the table by one goal.

Even so, it's hard to disagree with Prutton on this one. The arrival of Ismael Valerien has helped the Tykes quickly forget about Gerhard Struber's exit and they've claimed some very impressive scalps so far this term.

It looks set to be a tight game but Birmingham have struggled in those this season, which means it's advantage Barnsley.