Leicester vs Birmingham Prediction: A tough test for both teams

Leicester City will look to build on last week's victory at Charlton Athletic as they welcome Birmingham City to the King Power Stadium on Friday (20:00 BST, Sky Sports Main Event) in the Championship.

The Blues head across the Midlands looking to maintain their unbeaten start in the second tier, but looking for a response to their midweek Carabao Cup exit against Port Vale. Read on to find my Leicester vs Birmingham predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Leicester are having to cope with injuries to Harry Souttar (Achilles), Bobby Decordova-Reid and Victor Kristiansen (both unspecified). Influential winger Stephy Mavididi will need to be assessed ahead of kick-off, having missed last week's fixture with a minor issue.

Boss Marti Cifuentes is being put in a difficult position with attacker Bilal El Khannouss, who is desperately seeking a move away from the Foxes before the transfer window shuts. It is also being reported that the Moroccan will sit and watch in the stands for the remainder of the season in protest.

Football Odds

He was not in the squad that defeated Charlton last weekend and he's unlikely to be involved on Friday night.

Abdul Fatawu was the goalscoring hero last time out, and he's likely to start on the right flank to support Jordan Ayew up front.

Birmingham have a worry heading to Leicester concerning star attacker Jay Stansfield. The forward picked up a knock after being thrown on for the second half against Port Vale on Tuesday and was seen on crutches the following day.

Boss Chris Davies says there's uncertainty surrounding his involvement on Friday night. His absence would put pressure on Kyogo Furuhashi, who is likely to lead the line once again - having squandered two good opportunities against Oxford United last Saturday.

Lee Buchanan and Scott Wright (both knee) remain confined to the treatment room for the visitors.

After making wholesale changes against Port Vale, the likes of Ryan Allsop, Christoph Klarer, Ethan Laird, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Tomoki Iwata, Paik Seung-ho, Keshi Anderson and former Leicester man Demarai Gray are set to come back into the starting lineup.

Leicester vs Birmingham Odds

Leicester have won their last six head-to-head meetings with Birmingham and they are 6/4 (which has an implied probability of 40%) to come away with the victory.

The visitors have already drawn against a relegated Premier League side in Ipswich Town this term and the stalemate is marketed at 11/5.

The Blues are 15/8 to collect the three points, having won their past two fixtures in the Championship.

Each team has experienced two matches in the league this season in which both sides have found the back of the net - and BTTS is on offer at 4/5. This has also been a winning selection in two of the past three competitive meetings between the two clubs.

Draw no bet - Birmingham @ 1/1

This looks to be an interesting battle on Friday in front of the Sky cameras as you have one of the promotion favourites looking for an immediate return to the Premier League, and the other who are looking to emulate Ipswich in achieving back-to-back promotions.

Birmingham were disappointing in the cup on Tuesday but most of their regular starters were rested, and this freshness can help them in LE2. They tussled with Ipswich in the Championship opener earlier in the month and were unfortunate to come away with only a point.

They will believe they can match Leicester in this contest, despite being away from home. Their cohesion on the pitch gives them an advantage over the Foxes, but the hosts have individual star quality that can win a game of this profile (Mavididi and Fatawu).

In my Championship predictions, I tipped a 1-1 draw, so to freshen things up I think draw no bet in the visitors' favour could be a shrewd selection. Birmingham's first XI is organised and well-drilled, and they will be fired up for this clash.

They also have star quality who can be the difference in a game like this - notably Kyogo and Gray, with the former looking like he needs to open his league account so that the goals can flow for him.

The Blues are gunning for a third-straight victory in the second tier, and against a Leicester side that are still finding their way, they may just profit.

Demarai Gray anytime goalscorer @ 18/5

When reports came out about Birmingham being in talks to bring academy graduate Gray back to St. Andrew's this summer, a lot of neutrals and podcasters were not convinced it would be a good signing and that he wouldn't have the 'hunger" after being out in Saudi Arabia.

We may only be three games in but the 29-year-old is already showing that he is one of the very best players at this level. The wide man has one assist so far but he has been creating plenty of chances, as well as causing full-backs problems on either flank.

Against his former employers, whom he left Birmingham for in January 2016, I think he could come back to haunt them on Friday night because of his pace and skill. The supporters are itching for him to open his account and this would be some game for him to do so.

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