Birmingham City vs Wigan Athletic | League One Preview

Wigan Athletic travel to St Andrews to take on a Birmingham City side who are unbeaten in their first three games back in the third tier. Latics won last time out, but this is our biggest test yet.

Part One | An overview of our opponents. 🔎

Part Two | “Who to Watch” players. 👓

Part Three | What can we expect from this game? 🏟️

29 years have passed since Birmingham City found themselves competing in the third tier of English football, and this will be the first time the two sides have met at this level since April 1992. Wigan Athletic ran out 3-0 victors that day, thanks to Andy Pilling and Gary Worthington putting themselves on the scoresheet, the latter with a brace.

Since that game, the Blues and the Latics have met eight times in the Premier League, and twelve times in the Championship. Our overall fixture record stands at 27 games played, 10 wins for Latics, and 10 draws. Shaun Maloney will be hoping to continue our historically positive run of results against the freshly relegated side. However, it certainly will not be easy.

You can read my thoughts on our victory over Crawley Town, along with the weekly debrief, our new signing, and Academy updates, via the article link below.

Now, let’s dive into our next League One opponents! 💪🏼

Birmingham City, a side that once finished 9th in the 2009/10 Barclays Premier League, are now a third-tier outfit for the first time in 29 years. Unfortunately, when clubs circle the drain for long enough, relegation is almost inevitable.

That has been the recent story for the Blues since their 19th-place finish in the 2016/16 Championship season, where seventeenth was their highest achievement on two occasions since then.

The Blues won the Carling Cup in 2010/11 by beating Rochdale, MK Dons, Brentford, Aston Villa, West Ham United, and Arsenal on their journey. In the same season, Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League after winning the domestic trophy. Who does that remind you of? 😅

Another comparison to Wigan Athletic is that the Blues have also gone through major ownership problems. In 2007, Hong Kong businessman, Carson Yeung, acquired just under 30% of the Midlands club, making him the biggest shareholder on the board while being exempt from the Football League’s ‘Fit and Proper’ test which only took consideration of 30% or over shareholders.

In 2009, Yeung’s investment firm, Grandtop Holdings, was approved to acquire over 90% of the Birmingham City shares and they completed a compulsory purchase of the remaining shares.

While the first season under their ownership saw the Blues reach their highest-ever position in the Premier League (9th), before going on to win the Carling Cup in the next season, the tide very quickly began to turn. The Blues were relegated in 2010/11, lost in the Play-Off Semi-Finals to Blackpool a season later, began to face financial troubles, and were hit with a transfer embargo 💢

In 2012/13, Birmingham dropped to 12th and then 21st a season later. In March 2014, Yeung was found guilty of money laundering in a Hong Kong court, which found that “HK$720m (£55m) of the fortune he amassed between 2001 and 2007 was the proceeds of crime” according to the Guardian.

Source: The Guardian

Chinese-based firm, Trillion Trophy Asia, completed their takeover in October 2016, ending an awful period of attachment to Carsen Yeung where he had allowed the club, and the infrastructure, to crumble.

The new owners decided that Gary Rowett, who had guided the Blues to two tenth-placed finishes in the Championship, wasn’t the right man to take the team forward and they hired Gianfranco Zola 🇮🇹

The Italian former Chelsea legend picked up just two wins in twenty-four matches before Harry Redknapp was appointed to secure the Blues safety within the second tier. Redknapp signed a one-year deal with the Blues but was sacked in September 2017 after six-straight defeats in all competitions, with current England Head Coach, Lee Carsley, taking over as caretaker before Steve Cotterill stepped in from October. He lasted until March and was replaced by Garry Monk.

In March 2019, Birmingham were hit with a nine-point deduction for breaching ‘Profitability and Sustainability’ rules and narrowly escaped the drop. Garry Monk was sacked in June and replaced by Aitor Karanka. Later that year, 16-year-old Jude Bellingham made his first-team debut and became the world’s most expensive 17-year-old signing in July 2020 with a reported £25 million plus add-ons move to Borussia Dortmund 🇩🇪

After more managerial changes, with Aitor Karanka and Lee Bowyer facing the chop, Birmingham eventually appointed John Eustace in July 2022. In their first season together, Eustace settled the Blues in 17th place, and then US-based investors, Shelby Companies Ltd backed by Tom Wagner and NFL Legend, Tom Brady, acquired the club from the previous Chinese ownership in July 2023. Things we’re starting to look good again…

After 5 wins and 3 draws in the first 11 games of the 2023/24 season, positioning Birmingham 6th in the Championship, John Eustace was sacked and replaced by Manchester United and England Legend, Wayne Rooney - his third managerial role since resigning from Derby County and mutually parting ways with D.C. United. Madness.

Rooney picked up just two wins from the next fifteen matches, and the Blues dropped to 20th place. Tony Mowbray took charge for eight games before having to step down due to medical reasons, leaving Gary Rowett with eight games to try and prevent an inevitable relegation. He could not do so 📉

While the American ownership have plans to build a new stadium complex and take Birmingham City back to the top division, their immediate task is to escape the clutches of the third tier, which is no easy task.

To prepare for their new challenge, Birmingham City appointed 39-year-old former Swansea, Liverpool, Reading, Celtic, Leicester City, and Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager, Chris Davies, as their new gaffer on June 6th 2024. Davies has helped Celtic to 3 x Scottish League Cups, 2 x Scottish Cups, and 2 x Scottish Premiership titles, as well as playing a huge role in guiding Leicester City to the FA Cup in 2020/21 🏆

The Blues have also bid farewell to eleven players so far; Zach Jeacock (GK - Lincoln City), Neil Etheridge (GK to Thai-side, Buriam United), John Ruddy (GK to Newcastle United), Marc Roberts (CB to Barnsley), Ivan Sunjic (DM to Cyrpus-side, Pafos FC), Gary Gardner (CM to Cambridge United), Juninho Bacuna (CM to Saudi-side, Al Wehda), Jordan James (CM to French-side, Stade Rennais), Alex Pritchard (CAM to Turkish-side, Sivasspor), Siriki Dembele (FWD to Oxford United), and Scott Hogan (CF to ‘Free Agent’) 👋

So far, Birmingham have welcomed fourteen players into their squad, including; Bailey Peacock-Farrell (GK from Burnley), Ryan Allsop (GK from Hull City), Christoph Klarer (CB from German-side, Darmstadt 98), Ben Davies (CB on loan from Rangers), Alex Cochrane (LB from Hearts), Alfons Sampsted (RB on loan from Dutch-side, FC Twente), Marc Leonard (CM from Brighton), Taylor Gardner-Hickman (CM on loan from Bristol City), Willum Thór Willumsson (CAM from Dutch-side, Go Ahead Eagles), Luke Harris (CAM on loan from Fulham), Emil Hansson (FWD from Dutch-side, Heracles Almelo, Ayumu Yokoyama (FWD from Japanese-side, Sagan Tosu), Alfie May (FWD from Charlton Athletic) and Lyndon Dykes (FWD from QPR) ✍️

It’s safe to say they have strengthened their squad extremely well, and so far they look highly competitive.

Birmingham City 1 - 1 Reading FC | League One

(May 87’ - Pen)

Charlton Athletic 0 - 1 Birmingham City | EFL Cup

(Khela 32’)

Wycombe Wanderers 2 - 3 Birmingham City | League One

(May 31’, Harris 68’, Willumson 82’)

Leyton Orient 1 - 2 Birmingham City | League One

(Anderson 7’, May 20’)

Birmingham City 0 - 2 Fulham | EFL Cup

With two wins and 1 draw in League One so far, Davies’ side are sitting fifth in the table on seven points. On Tuesday night, they bowed out of the EFL Cup in the second round with a 2-0 defeat at home to Premier League side, Fulham. However, supporters will be filled with optimism after a battling performance.

With a wealth of squad players to choose from, I have settled on these players as my top three ones to watch 👇🏼

Alfie May (#9, Forward, Age: 31, joined on July 2nd 2024 from Charlton Athletic)

If there was a list of forwards that a League One side never wants to face, Alfie May would be within the top three, no doubt. The 31-year-old has featured in just over 200 third-tier games, scoring 76 goals and assisting a further 12. 88 goal contributions in 207 games. Outstanding.

May helped Cheltenham Town to the League Two title in 2020/21 and scored 23 goals in his first season back in the third tier - third highest behind Ross Stewart (24) and Will Keane (26). Throughout the 2022/23 season, May scored 20 goals, finishing joint third again in the goalscoring charts.

Last season, May joined Charlton Athletic and won the Golden Boot with 23 goals scored. He also won the PFA League One Player of the Year and was placed in the EFL and PFA Team of the Year 🏆

Birmingham City are already getting their money’s worth from the forward, sitting as joint-top scorer with three in three, and five of his six shots so far have been on target. Last season, May scored two goals at the DW Stadium in our 3-2 loss against Charlton Athletic.

Krystian Bielik (#6, Centre Back, Age: 26, joined on June 29th 2023 from Derby County)

The Blues’ 6-foot-2 Polish Centre Back plays a major role in the way they play and has had the most touches of any player in League One after game week 3. Bielik has also completed 24 of his 36 long-ball attempts, with Blackpool’s Lee Evans the only outfield player to have completed more (25/41) 🎯

Adding to those stats, the Pole has intercepted 11 balls so far - only Bristol Rovers’ Clinton Mola and James Wilson have completed more (12 each) - and blocked 5 shots - the third most in the league so far behind Charlton Athletic’s Alex Mitchell (6) and Mansfield Town’s Aden Flint (7).

Bielik plays as the left centre-back and is incredibly strong at defending the space around him. He has won 9/16 ground duels and 17/26 aerial duels. Our forwards will need to be smart in how we try and work the ball around him.

Keshi Anderson (#14, Midfielder, Age: 29, joined on July 22nd 2023 from Blackpool)

I was torn between selecting Keshi Anderson or Willum Willumson for my final pick. However, overall I feel Anderson might bring more intensity to the game that our defence could struggle to contain. He is like a charging bull when he gets going.

Anderson is an attacking midfielder who is intense in the way he presses. When teams try to play out from the back, Anderson and May work together as the triggers to start the Blues press, and his goal against Leyton Orient last time out proved how effective this can be.

As you can see here, Alfie May hunted down Brandon Cooper to force him to make a pass back to the goalkeeper, Zac Hemming. May continued his run to block off the path back to Cooper, with Anderson closing down Jayden Sweeney who was the only viable passing option unless a long ball was played upfield or put into the stands. Under pressure, Hemming was forced into making a poor pass, which Anderson intercepted and played a one-two with May to get a clear run on goal. One nil, seven minutes in.

Shaun Maloney likes Wigan to play out from the back, and this high press is something that we are going to have to be very wary of. Long balls may need to be played upfield to break the press, so our midfielders and attackers will need to constantly make sure they are open to receiving the ball, or else we will be turning possession over far too much.

First and foremost, I expect Birmingham City to have the majority of possession in both halves. Over the three games so far, the Blues have had an average of 71% of possession, with Latics managing 50%.

With this, I expect us to set up more defensively, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see James Carragher start again alongside Jason Kerr and Will Aimson due to how well he did against Crawley Town when we had our backs to the wall for large portions of the game.

The Blues have done well at working the ball into the opponent’s penalty areas, with 28 of their 37 shots coming from inside the box. All of their goals so far have also been scored within the box, with just one of six coming from the penalty spot ⚽️

Latics are averaging 7 shots for and 13 against per game, while Birmingham are averaging 12 shots for and only 9 against per game. Chris Davies wants his side to play on the front foot and make use of the wide areas to attack from wherever the space opens up. Paik Seung-Ho is an excellent passer of the ball from deep and will be sending long balls into the channels for the wide players to work with. Our full backs will need to be prepared for this.

There is a defensive frailty to Birmingham so far, as they have conceded four goals in their opening three league games. Under pressure, the defence has been prone to errors, especially down their right side as Ethan Laird loves to get forward and this has often left far too much space for opponents to get in behind. His defensive positioning is also often subpar. Our attackers will need to ensure they are exploiting this weakness as often as possible.

This game is going to require Wigan Athletic to be at our very best defensively to ensure we can come away from St Andrews with at least a point. Our attackers will also need to create their own luck as chances will be hard to come by with this being our biggest test of the season so far. I have faith.

👕 Starting XI Prediction: Tickle, Carragher, Kerr, Aimson, Chambers, Adeeko, M Smith, Rankine, Aasgaard, Thomas, Hugill

⚽️ Score Prediction: Birmingham City 2 - 2 Wigan Athletic

Up the Tics 🔵⚪️

🙌 Thank you for reading!

✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan

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