Birmingham City

A potential move to take the Championship play-offs down to eighth place would damage the competition's credibility, according to former Huddersfield, Stoke and Middlesbrough defender Tommy Smith.

The EFL board is set to discuss proposals to increase the number of teams in the end-of-season play-offs from four to six but Smith, who was promoted to the Premier League with Huddersfield via the play-offs in 2017 is not a fan of the idea.

"It's not for me - I think it suits teams who don't really have a chance to get in the top six," he told the BBC's EFL podcast 72+.

"From a credibility point of view the top six is there to be aimed at and you have to earn your place in it."

The play-offs were first introduced for the 1986-87 season where sides finishing third down to fifth were involved along with the team third-from-bottom in the top flight.

After two seasons the format was changed to be played out between teams finishing third to sixth in the second tier.

"To finish eighth in the Championship and potentially get promoted to the Premier League it just doesn't sit right with me," added Smith.

"Notoriously over the past years getting into the top six is tough and when you get in there after a long hard season it feels brilliant, so to make it a top eight it dilutes it."

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Birmingham City ended a three-match goalless losing streak with victory over Swansea City thanks to a stoppage-time header from striker Lyndon Dykes.

But despite the string of poor results that preceded it, Blues boss Chris Davies said that there was "a lot" he liked about his side's performances so far this season.

"I thought we were the better team. We deserved to win the game. I think we've been close in a couple of narrow defeats recently, but there's a lot about our game I have liked," he told BBC Sport.

"I think we handled the game really well. Swansea are an established side at this level, good team in possession, and I thought we really limited then.

"We were very aggressive and we created lots of moments and chances to win the match."

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies admits his side have endured a "challenging spell" following back-to-back away defeats in the Championship.

Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at Stoke City last Saturday, a fortnight after losing 2-0 at Leicester prior to the international break.

"I think we started brightly in our first few games and we have just hit a little bit of a challenging spell with these few away games, but my job is to find the perspective pretty quickly," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"I am looking at those two games as the harder games that we will have this season, especially on the road. We are back at home on Saturday, where we are typically very strong, so we are looking forward to that game."

Davies' side are without a goal in their past three games in all competitions, including a defeat by Port Vale in the Carabao Cup.

"It is something we are aware of," the 40-year-old added. "I certainly don't want to create too much of it, but it is about how we can become more unpredictable at times in order to create more goal chances.

"Our build-up play is quite good. We can get through the lines into the final third OK - we have had a lot of entries into the box in comparison to Leicester and Stoke - but we haven't been able to convert that into big chances."

Birmingham host Swansea City on Saturday (12:30 BST) and the Swans come into the game off the back of a dramatic midweek Carabao Cup comeback victory against Nottingham Forest.

In seventh spot, they are four places and one point better off than Blues.

"It is a club I know pretty well and that I am very familiar with," added Davies, a former Wales Under-19 international.

"But like anything, that counts for very little when the game gets going. They have had a strong start themselves and they will be really buoyed by their victory [over Forest], so I think they will come full of confidence."

For the full Davies interview and more Blues content, head here to BBC Sounds.

Birmingham will seek to get back to winning ways as Swansea head to St Andrew's on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

The Blues have lost their past two league games without scoring but have the longest unbeaten run on home turf in the country.

The Swans are seeking to make it five unbeaten in the Championship and also stunned Premier League Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup in midweek.

• Birmingham City are unbeaten in each of their past eight league matches against Swansea City (W3 D5), since a 3-1 home defeat in July 2020.

• Four of the past five Championship meetings between Swansea City and Birmingham City have ended level.

• Birmingham City are unbeaten in each of their past 27 home league games (W22 D5), the longest ongoing run in England's top four tiers.

• Since Alan Sheehan's first game in charge on 22 February, only Middlesbrough (33) have won more Championship points than Swansea City (32), with the Swans winning nine of 18 matches in that time (D5 L4).

• Birmingham have failed to score in each of their past two league games, last going three without a goal back in March 2024.

• The Blues have mustered the fewest shots on target of any Championship side in 2025-26 so far (9).

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Birmingham City captain Christoph Klarer says the squad will use the lack of a midweek game to drill down on analysing where they got things wrong against Stoke City and improve for Saturday's meeting with Swansea City.

Blues' 1-0 defeat by the in-form Potters was their second league loss in a row and third on the bounce overall after the Carabao Cup exit to Port Vale.

Bosun Lawal's header from a corner condemned Blues to back-to-back league defeats for the first time since April 2024.

"We know this division is good," Klarer told BBC Radio WM.

"If we're not at our best then we can concede set-pieces like we did - it's completely not where we want to be in the first 20-30 minutes."

Chris Davies' side also failed to muster a shot on target against Stoke, which Klarer says is a blip they must sort out quickly.

"We were lacking some quality going forward and didn't really test their keeper at all," the Austrian centre-back added.

"We've got some quality players going forward - not just the strikers - but we just struggled to create chances, we're lacking something in the final third."

With a full week to plan for the match against Swansea, Klarer says Blues will use the extra time without another game wisely.

"We'll analyse it and we need to improve, that's for sure, because you never want to lose two on the bounce," he added.

"But we've got a week now to put it right against Swansea."

Listen to more from Klarer and Birmingham City on BBC Sounds.

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies says that he doesn't want the side to "lose too much heart" after suffering a second successive loss in the Championship.

The West Midlands side conceded a narrow 1-0 loss to Stoke City on Saturday.

"You expect it to be a tough start here and we weren't good enough in the first 20 minutes or half an hour and it cost us the game.

"Very rarely have I seen us as passive and soft as that in the opening periods of a game - there weren't enough blue shirts winning second balls and in the duels.

"It was all us in the second half without turning that possession and dominance into meaningful chances.

"It's not a surprise to me how tough the Championship [is] but we have to make sure we don't lose too much heart from it and learn."

Listen to the full post-match interview with Davies and more Birmingham City content on BBC Sounds.

Stoke City will take on Birmingham City on Saturday (15:00 BST) with the Potters in their best season-opening form since 2021, when they won three and drew one Championship game.

Birmingham City will look to return to winning ways after losing 2-0 at Leicester City before the international break.

• Stoke City have won only one of their last eight league games against Birmingham City (D4 L3); a 3-1 away win in December 2023.

• Birmingham City are unbeaten in their last four away league games against Stoke City (W2 D2), winning on each of their previous two trips.

• After losing 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion last time out, Stoke are looking to avoid successive home league defeats for the first time since September 2024.

• Birmingham's 2-0 defeat at Leicester City last time out ended a run of 16 successive league games unbeaten (W13 D3). They haven't lost successive league matches since April 2024.

• Stoke's Sorba Thomas has played more passes into the opposition box than any other Championship player this season (45), while only Sheffield Wednesday's Barry Bannan and Southampton's Ryan Manning (12 each) have created more chances than the Stoke winger (11).

Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies has been assessing his squad following the closure of the transfer window as they prepare to travel to Stoke City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Blues' signings included experienced defender Jack Robinson from Sheffield United and Sunderland loanee Patrick Roberts.

Roberts impressed most recently during Sunderland's Championship play-off final with Sheffield United, when he assisted the Black Cats equalising goal.

"[Roberts is] someone with that creativity and craft and invention. We haven't got too many like him so I was really pleased we could get him in," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"He knows he's got to earn his place there and he's backing himself to do that.

"We have a squad now that have to fight and earn their position in their team."

Davies also provided an encouraging update on the fitness of striker Jay Stansfield after he picked up a knock during the EFL Cup game against Port Vale.

"Step-by-step [Stansfield]'s getting there and we'll see how he goes in the next few days. He's close," Davies added.

The trip to Stoke will be Blues' first game back after the international break. Stoke have picked up nine points form their opening four games and are third in the Championship so Davies is expecting a challenging fixture.

"[Stoke are an] industrious team, [they] work hard. Obviously Mark Robins is an excellent manager so I've been impressed with what I've seen. They've obviously made a super start to the season as well," he added.

Listen to the full interview with Chris Davies and more Blues on Sounds.

Blues legend Michael 'Magic' Johnson has been reminiscing about the club's 2002 promotion to the Premier League in Steve Bruce's first season in charge.

Birmingham City finished fifth in the First Division to qualify for the play-offs, and after drawing 1-1 after extra time against Norwich City in the final, Blues won the tie on penalties 4-2 to be promoted.

"It probably goes down as one of the most standout moments of my career," Johnson told BBC Radio WM as part of their 'Legends interviews' feature.

"We all knew what it meant to the city. The club had been starved of Premier League status."

Until 2002, Birmingham City had never played in the Premier League. Under Bruce's predecessor Trevor Francis, they reached the play-off semi-finals in three consecutive seasons prior to the 2001-02 season, but never made it further.

"To arrive at the amount of play-off semi-finals that we did and then we did it under Steve in his first season. We realised that we've got to get this over the line," said Johnson.

The former centre-back believes Birmingham City players past and present have to earn support from the Blues fanbase, support which undoubtedly had a positive influence on the team that day in 2002.

And having spent eight years at the club from the age of 21 to 29, Johnson understands what it takes to keep Blues fans onside.

"They want to see blood, sweat and tears. They want to see hard work, they want to see that never-give-in attitude - and if you give them that, then they can forgive [mistakes]."

Listen to the full interview with Michael Johnson and more Blues on Sounds.

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Birmingham City's final deadline day signing Jack Robinson says he was wooed by the stature of the club as he seeks the opportunity for a fresh start.

The defender joined from fellow Championship side Sheffield United on a two-year-deal on the day of his 32nd birthday.

"When I found out Birmingham [City] were interested it was something I definitely thought I could see myself doing," Robinson told the club's YouTube channel., external

Robinson had been with the Blades since January 2020 but believes now is the right time for a new chapter.

"I feel like I've done everything I can with Sheffield United and the club's going in a different direction," he added.

Robinson started the Carabao Cup first round game between Birmingham and Sheffield United last month for the Blades, with Blues coming out 2-1 winners.

And he believes it is his senior footballing experience which made him a desirable signing for manager Chris Davies.

The average age of Birmingham City's backline that faced Leicester City in their most recent Championship game was 26.

"I've always had a really good mentality in football," Robinson added. "The manager rang me and said we're lacking a little bit in experience and leadership and [he asked] can I come in and do that job."

Blues are looking to achieve back-to-back promotions to return to the Premier League for the first time since 2011 - a goal Robinson believes is achievable.

"There's a big project going on here," he added. "They've done really well last year, started well this year as well.

"Any help I can give the team, that's what it's all about. Promotion is the goal at the end of this season."

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Patrick Roberts said one phone call from Birmingham City boss Chris Davies was all he needed to sign up.

The playmaker has joined Blues from Sunderland on a season-long loan, linking up again with a coach he worked with during two years at Celtic.

Roberts, 28, took Birmingham's summer signings to 14 - a total that includes loan moves that were turned into permanent transfers.

He joined on the final day of the window, along with Sheffield United's Jack Robinson - and Roberts said the decision to make the switch was straightforward.

Roberts told the club's official channel on X, external: "I know the manager - I used to work with him when I was younger, so one phone call from him was all I needed.

"It didn't take much to persuade me but we had a good relationship when I was young at Celtic.

"You could see from there how he would take to becoming a manager and he's come a long way. He's a top coach. I already knew that."

Roberts appeared to have the world at his feet when he left Fulham to join Manchester City's academy.

However, he was unable to make a breakthrough there and spent several seasons on loan at Celtic, Girona, Norwich City, Middlesbrough, Derby County and Troyes before finally establishing himself at the Stadium of Light.

Roberts added: "I think physically and mentally I'm in a good place. Some of the demons I had with injuries when I was younger, I can manage that in an easier way.

"He [Davies] explained there was a creative role. I want to get on the ball and make things happen. I'll be doing what I can to bring that every week.

"I'm striving to get to the top. I did it last season and did it the hard way. I'm here to help Birmingham.

"It's another city that lives and dies by its football. That's nothing new to me. I know what it's like to play for big clubs and Birmingham are going in the right direction. It would be an honour to help."

How much more will Birmingham City improve their squad? Will West Bromwich Albion get any more deals done before the window slams shut?

Find out in our visualised two-hour special show as we follow all of your club's deadline day business. Watch here at 18:00 BST.

Image source, Rex Features

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies said his players "felt they deserved more" in defeat at Leicester, ending their unbeaten start to the Championship season.

An early goal from Abdul Fatawu and a second late on from Ricardo Pereira wrapped up a 2-0 win for the Foxes.

The loss left Blues seventh in the early table before Saturday's fixtures.

"I was really disappointed to lose that match," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"I think we conceded a poor goal to start the game, which is unlike us, but we recovered really well.

"Obviously, they've gone up the other end in the last moments and got a goal from the very little they had around our box.

"The players are very disappointed because they felt they deserved a lot more than what they got out of that game.

"What we've seen is that we've got the ball into good areas, but we've got to make them defend a little better. More crosses, more box action."

Listen to Davies' post-match interview with BBC Radio WM on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Birmingham remain interested in former England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after his departure from Besiktas.

The 32-year-old is available on a free transfer after leaving the Black Eagles following two years in Turkey.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is also understood to have Premier League interest while a sentimental return to Southampton - where he started his career - cannot be ruled out but strong interest remains from St Andrew's.

Ambitious Blues, promoted after winning League One with an EFL record of 111 points last season, are determined to challenge for promotion to the Premier League this term and are considering bringing Oxlade-Chamberlain in.

The ex-Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder, who won the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League with the Reds in 2020, is eager to return to England to be with his young family.

Wages are not expected to be an issue with Oxlade-Chamberlain believed to be realistic and aware not to price himself out of any move, while Besiktas said they had agreed to pay him compensation of 1.75m euros (£1.5m) under the terms of his termination.

The midfielder, capped 35 times by England, made 50 appearances for Besiktas after leaving Anfield in 2023, scoring five goals, and won the Turkish Cup in 2024.

He enjoyed a good relationship with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - who was sacked by the club on Thursday - with the former Manchester United boss previously praising his professionalism and experience.

He made 18 appearances, scoring once, in the second half of last season as Besiktas finished fourth to qualify for the Europa League.

But they were knocked out of the competition by Shakhtar and failed to reach the league stage of the Europa Conference League after losing in the play-offs to Lausanne on Thursday, which cost Solskjaer his job.

The EFL weekend gets under way with a mouthwatering clash between Leicester and Birmingham at the King Power on Friday night (20:00 BST).

The two sides were playing two divisions apart last season but go into this match with the unbeaten Blues two places and one point ahead of the Foxes in the fledgling Championship standings.

• Leicester City have won each of their past four league games against Birmingham City, two via a 2-1 scoreline and the other two via a 3-2 scoreline.

• Birmingham City have won just two of their past 12 away league games against Leicester City (D2 L8), failing to win on any of their last four visits to the King Power Stadium.

• Leicester have won each of their past three home league games and will be looking to win four in succession for the first time since April 2024.

• Through their opening three Championship matches this season, Birmingham have faced just 18 shots in total and four shots on target – no side has faced fewer of either in the 2025-26 competition.

• Amongst the 103 players in the Championship this season to have attempted 100+ passes, no player holds a better pass accuracy rate than Leicester's Harry Winks (96.3%), whilst teammate Boubakary Soumare ranks second (93.4%)