Birmingham City host Wolverhampton Wanderers at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on 6 September 2026 in Matchweek 5 of the EFL Championship, a fixture that captures the division's spread this season rather well. Birmingham came up from League One in 2024-25 and sit eighth on six points from four games, unbeaten in nine league matches and enjoying their longest such run since 2020, whereas Wolves dropped from the Premier League last season and are back in the second tier for the first time since 2017-18, sitting fourth on seven points after a 2-4 defeat at West Ham that ended a promising opening run.
Chris Davies, appointed in June 2024 after Tony Mowbray resigned for health reasons, meets César Peixoto here for the first time, Peixoto having taken charge in June 2026 following Rob Edwards' sacking.
Birmingham opened their league campaign with a 0-0 against Sheffield United, followed by a 2-2 with Bristol City, a 2-1 win over Wrexham and a 1-1 against Southampton on 1 September, leaving them with two wins and two draws from four unbeaten games. The 1-6 Carabao Cup hammering at Brentford was ugly but does not count towards the league record. Wolves had scored eight goals in three Championship games before West Ham, with wins over Preston (3-1) and Stoke (4-1) and a draw at Blackburn (2-2), before shipping four at the London Stadium having already conceded two at Ewood Park. Six conceded in four games alongside that attacking output makes the defensive picture considerably less comfortable.
Birmingham are without Marc Leonard (Achilles), Max Bird (calf) and Lee Buchanan (cruciate), all long term absentees, while Demarai Gray is a doubt with a shoulder knock. Wolves travel without their first choice full backs Kieran Trippier and Matt Doherty, both out with knee problems, alongside goalkeeper Scott Johnstone (shoulder) and Yerson Mosquera (ankle).
Davies sets Birmingham up in a 4-2-3-1, occasionally switching to a back five, with an emphasis on building from the back. Phil Neumann has already scored twice from defence, which tells you something about how far forward Birmingham's back line gets involved and with the full backs pushing high and Neumann stepping into midfield, Liam Millar becomes the primary outlet whenever Birmingham look to spring attacks quickly. Jay Stansfield leads the line and August Priske, who scored recently, provides another central option.
Peixoto's Wolves are possession based and patient in build up, with the full backs advancing high to create width and overloads. Raúl Jiménez leads the line as the senior striker, Fer López contributes both goals and assists from midfield, Rodrigo Gomes provides attacking output from wide and Marshall Munetsi screens the defence, wins the ball back and distributes short to keep possession ticking.
The full back absences are a real problem for Wolves in this fixture specifically. Millar's pace is exactly the kind of threat that less experienced replacements will struggle to handle and with Neumann pushing forward and Birmingham's full backs high, there is space to exploit in behind. Wolves' midfield has enough control to move the ball through Jiménez but Neumann's runs from deep could drag Munetsi out of position and create overloads worth watching and six conceded in four Championship games hardly suggests Peixoto has the defensive side sorted yet.
With Leonard and Buchanan out, Birmingham will lean on set pieces even more than usual and Neumann's aerial threat from dead balls could prove decisive. Wolves, missing their usual full back options, may concede territory down the flanks and need to stay compact at restarts. This is also Peixoto's first real test of how his squad responds to a heavy defeat, which is a question in itself.
A 1-2 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Home advantage, an unbeaten league run and Millar's pace against makeshift full backs all make a genuine case for Birmingham but three long term absentees in Leonard, Bird and Buchanan leave gaps that Jiménez and López can exploit behind an injury depleted back line and Wolves' possession game should give them enough control to see it out even without Doherty and Trippier. A narrow away win.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
