Birmingham City FC vs Preston North End FC, Championship 2025-26 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2025-26

Birmingham City FC

2 – 1

Full Time

Preston North End FC

Wed 22 Apr 2026 · 18:45 St Andrew's Ground 23,798 HT 45' · FT 45'

• Overview

• Events

• Lineups

• H2H

• Match Preview

  Birmingham City FC vs Preston North End FC — Championship at St Andrew's Ground.

  • Birmingham City FC 46 games · 64 pts (2025/26)
  • Preston North End FC 46 games · 60 pts (2025/26)

  Match Details

  • Referee Ben Toner
  • Assistant 1
  • Assistant 2 Nigel Lugg

  Standings

  #	Team	P	Pts
  1	Coventry City FC	46	95
  2	Ipswich Town FC	46	84
  3	Millwall FC	46	83
  4	Southampton FC	46	80
  5	Middlesbrough FC	46	80
  6	Hull City AFC	46	73
  7	Wrexham AFC	46	71
  8	Derby County FC	46	69
  9	Norwich City FC	46	65
  10	Birmingham City FC	46	64
  11	Swansea City AFC	46	64
  12	Bristol City FC	46	62
  13	Sheffield United FC	46	60
  14	Preston North End FC	46	60
  15	Queens Park Rangers FC	46	58
  16	Watford FC	46	57
  17	Stoke City FC	46	55
  18	Portsmouth FC	46	55
  19	Charlton Athletic FC	46	53
  20	Blackburn Rovers FC	46	52
  21	West Bromwich Albion FC	46	51
  22	Oxford United FC	46	47
  23	Leicester City FC	46	46
  24	Sheffield Wednesday FC	46	0

  Head-to-Head

  6

  2

  6

  Birmingham City FC 14 games · Avg 1.8 goals Preston North End FC

  Last 5 meetings

  2026-04-22 Birmingham City FC 2–1 Preston North End FC 2025-10-21 Preston North End FC 0–1 Birmingham City FC 2024-04-01 Birmingham City FC 1–0 Preston North End FC 2023-09-19 Preston North End FC 2–1 Birmingham City FC 2023-01-21 Birmingham City FC 1–2 Preston North End FC

  Recent Form

  Birmingham City FC

  Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Result
  22 Apr	Preston North End FC	H	2–1	W
  18 Apr	Hull City AFC	A	1–1	D
  12 Apr	Wrexham AFC	H	2–0	W
  06 Apr	Ipswich Town FC	A	1–2	L
  03 Apr	Blackburn Rovers FC	H	0–1	L
  21 Mar	Derby County FC	A	0–1	L

  Preston North End FC

  Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Result
  22 Apr	Birmingham City FC	A	1–2	L
  18 Apr	West Bromwich Albion FC	H	0–2	L
  11 Apr	Charlton Athletic FC	A	2–1	W
  06 Apr	Queens Park Rangers FC	H	1–1	D
  03 Apr	Leicester City FC	A	2–2	D
  20 Mar	Stoke City FC	H	3–1	W

  Season Stats

  Birmingham City FC		Preston North End FC
  #10	Position	#14
  64	Points	60
  46	Played	46
  17 / 13 / 16	W / D / L	15 / 15 / 16
  57	Scored	55
  56	Conceded	62
  +1	GD	-7
  1.39	PPG	1.30
  37%	Win %	33%

  Key Stats

  36% Both Teams to Score
  H2H (14 games)

  36% Over 2.5 Goals
  H2H history

  22% Clean Sheets
  Birmingham City FC this season

  20% Clean Sheets
  Preston North End FC this season

  Birmingham City FC are 10th (64 pts). Preston North End FC are 14th (60 pts).

• Match Events

  • 0' The match kicks off with home fans waiting with anticipation for Birmingham City FC to score. At the same time, Preston North End FC does not seem to pull back! Let’s get it on!
  • 5' Supporters expect more eagerness from Carlos Vicente, as he is very good at scoring at St Andrew's Ground with 1 goals in the last 1 games.
  • 10' What a strike from Jay Stansfield! The score is 1-0.
  • 15' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Pol Valentin Sancho suffering a number of foals already.
  • 16' Goal! Ibrahim Osman scores his 1 goal in 6 matches.
  • 21' Birmingham City FC looks like a favorite considering 2 games won in last 2 matches with its main striker Ibrahim Osman scoring 1 goals.
  • 25' Goal! Andrew Hughes scores his 11 goal in 369 matches.
  • 30' Preston North End FC seems to be on a short break. The game is mainly concentrated in the center. It’s high time they got back to action. Otherwise, it looks like a goalless game.
  • 35' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 35 minutes.
  • 37' Another substitution for Birmingham City FC to replace Ibrahim Osman by Demarai Gray on 37 minute.
  • 42' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. Michael Smith made 356 appearances and scored 69 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
  • 45' Preston North End FC receives a card for a hard tackle on 45.
  • 50' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. Preston North End FC needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
  • 55' Preston North End FC is defending very well tonight not leaving a chance for their rivals to get through for a goal.
  • 60' Seung-Ho Paik has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 0 appearances with only 0 goals this season.
  • 65' The Birmingham City FC manager makes a substitution. Ethan Laird departs to be replaced by Bright Osayi-Samuel.
  • 70' The travelling Preston North End FC supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
  • 72' Preston North End FC receives a card for a hard tackle on 72.
  • 72' Time for substitution for Birmingham City FC. Jay Stansfield is replaced by Jhon Solis.
  • 73' Daniel Jebbison has so much to prove this time. He replaces Milutin Osmajic on 73 minute.
  • 78' Preston North End FC manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Robbie Brady is hanging Andrija Vukcevic on the field on 78 minute.
  • 83' It’s high time Paul Heckingbottom made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 84' The whistle greets Lewis Dobbin as he departs to be replaced by Michael Smith.
  • 89' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 2 times this season with Birmingham City FC winning 100% of all matches.
  • Another three points for Birmingham City FC.

• Birmingham City FC

  4-2-3-1

  Starting XI

  • 5
    Phil Neumann
  • 31
    Kai Wagner
  • 24
    Tomoki Iwata
  • 28
    Jay Stansfield ↓ Jhon Solis 72'
  • 2
    Ethan Laird ↓ Bright Osayi-Samuel 65'
  • 4
    Christoph Klarer
  • 8
    Seung-Ho Paik
  • 25
    James Beadle
  • 29
    August Priske
  • 17
    Ibrahim Osman ↓ Demarai Gray 37'
  • 23
    Carlos Vicente

  Bench

  • 10
    Demarai Gray ↑ 37'
  • 6
    Jack Robinson
  • 26
    Bright Osayi-Samuel ↑ 65'
  • 21
    Ryan Allsop
  • 33
    Marvin Ducksch
  • 16
    Patrick Roberts
  • 20
    Alex Cochrane
  • 7
    Tommy Doyle
  • 14
    Jhon Solis ↑ 72'

  Coach Chris Davies

  Preston North End FC

  3-5-2

  Starting XI

  • 6
    Liam Lindsay
  • 44
    Brad Potts ↓ Andrew Moran 65'
  • 16
    Andrew Hughes
  • 15
    Jordan Thompson
  • 1
    Daniel Iversen
  • 2
    Pol Valentin Sancho ↓ Thierry Small 73'
  • 28
    Milutin Osmajic ↓ Daniel Jebbison 73'
  • 3
    Andrija Vukcevic ↓ Robbie Brady 78'
  • 21
    Alfie Devine
  • 17
    Lewis Dobbin ↓ Michael Smith 84'
  • 42
    Odel Offiah

  Bench

  • 11
    Robbie Brady ↑ 78'
  • 12
    Jack Walton
  • 14
    Jordan Storey
  • 24
    Michael Smith ↑ 84'
  • 13
    David Cornell
  • 26
    Thierry Small ↑ 73'
  • 9
    Daniel Jebbison ↑ 73'
  • 23
    Andrew Moran ↑ 65'
  • 22
    Milos Lukovic

  Coach Paul Heckingbottom

• Head to Head

  2026-04-22 Birmingham City FC 2–1 Preston North End FC 2025-10-21 Preston North End FC 0–1 Birmingham City FC 2024-04-01 Birmingham City FC 1–0 Preston North End FC 2023-09-19 Preston North End FC 2–1 Birmingham City FC 2023-01-21 Birmingham City FC 1–2 Preston North End FC

  Birmingham City FC Form

  2026-04-22 Birmingham City FC 2–1 Preston North End FC W 2026-04-18 Hull City AFC 1–1 Birmingham City FC D 2026-04-12 Birmingham City FC 2–0 Wrexham AFC W 2026-04-06 Ipswich Town FC 2–1 Birmingham City FC L 2026-04-03 Birmingham City FC 0–1 Blackburn Rovers FC L 2026-03-21 Derby County FC 1–0 Birmingham City FC L

  Preston North End FC Form

  2026-04-22 Birmingham City FC 2–1 Preston North End FC L 2026-04-18 Preston North End FC 0–2 West Bromwich Albion FC L 2026-04-11 Charlton Athletic FC 1–2 Preston North End FC W 2026-04-06 Preston North End FC 1–1 Queens Park Rangers FC D 2026-04-03 Leicester City FC 2–2 Preston North End FC D 2026-03-20 Preston North End FC 3–1 Stoke City FC W