Birmingham v Middlesbrough: promotion chase meets top-half push | OneFootball

Birmingham City host Middlesbrough in the Championship on Monday, 2 March 2026 at St Andrew's, with the visitors defending second place and the hosts eyeing a climb towards the top 10.

Birmingham City sit 11th on 49 points, while Middlesbrough are second with 63 and in the automatic promotion places. Boro won November's reverse fixture 2-1.

Birmingham have won three of their last five league games but fell 3-0 at Millwall last time out. Boro have lost one of their last five, drawing the last two.

Birmingham are without Kyogo Furuhashi and Paik Seung-ho through injury, with Jhon Solís suspended. Defenders Lee Buchanan, Alexander William Cochrane and Kai Wagner are also sidelined. For the visitors, Darragh Lenihan, Alfie Jones and Alex Bangura are injured.

Boro average 58% possession and 84.65% pass accuracy, scoring 51 and conceding 34, so they could look to control the ball and manage space. Morgan Whittaker has 11 league goals alongside five assists. Birmingham's 10 headed goals and heavy open-play crossing suggest wide service could trouble Boro, with Jay Stansfield on nine league goals and five assists.

A home win would take Birmingham to 52 points and could move them into the top 10, edging them towards the play-off picture. Victory for Boro would lift them to 66 points and keep them firmly in the automatic promotion places.