Birmingham City have been backed by David Prutton to dent Swansea City automatic promotion tomorrow when they meet in the Sky Bet Championship. 

Lee Bowyer is finding his feet with Birmingham after taking on the top job at St Andrew's, whilst Steve Cooper and Swansea are in contention for automatic promotion at the other end of the table.

So far, Bowyer has beaten Reading and lost to Watford in his opening two games as Birmingham boss, with the March international break giving him a period to work with the squad he's inherited from Aitor Karanka.

As for Cooper's side, they were stalling a bit heading into the international break as they compete with Brentford and Watford for second place.

Ahead of their meeting, Prutton has claimed that both need the win, but he sees the game playing out as a 1-1 draw.

Writing in his Sky Sports column, Prutton said: "We saw the two faces of what Lee Bowyer has to work with at Birmingham just before the break. The Reading win was great, but in the Watford game, it just got taken away from them by one of the best squads in the league.

"The break came at a good time for Swansea. They needed to have a bit of a breather because they haven't really been themselves for a few weeks now. This is a well-balanced game and both need a win, but I think it will be a draw."

A point would keep Birmingham's heads above water, as they still sit a point outside the relegation zone heading into the weekend. However, Rotherham's sea of games in-hand would leave Blues vulnerable still.

In terms of Swansea, nothing less than three points will do as they look to keep hot on the heels of Watford.

The Verdict 

This is a really tough game to call in the Championship this weekend.

The table doesn't suggest that, but it is, with Bowyer's Birmingham still an unknown quantity and Swansea maybe feeling the heat a little bit heading into the international break.

For both, it's vital that they hit the ground running heading into the run-in if they are to achieve their goal from here.

Swansea's need is perhaps more crucial at this stage, so you maybe swing their way if there's going to be a result.

Thoughts? Let us know!