The long-awaited start of the Championship football season is finally here and this weekend’s fixtures have some exciting matches to enjoy. Birmingham City takes on Norwich City at the Birmingham Stadium St. Andrews. Both teams were expected to do better last season, with Birmingham narrowly missing out on relegation. Norwich was hoping for a promotion run that never came to fruition as they struggled to put a good run of form together.
That was last season and this is a new start for both teams, with both looking to get their campaign off to a winning start tomorrow.
Team news
Birmingham City transfer embargo lifted
Gary Monk will be relieved that the transfer embargo has now been lifted, enabling him to sign new players before the deadline. This means he can complete the deal for Denmark U21 international Kristian Pederson. However, they are restricted to making free transfers and low-budget loans after the EFL took action regarding their over-spending.
This means that Monk will be playing with the same team he took over back in March for this fixture at least. Whether he starts with David Stockdale in goal is another matter, with the two not seeing eye-to-eye and the goalkeeper has been told by Monk he can leave the club.
Norwich new signings
Norwich has brought Ben Marshall from Wolves and Emiliano Buendia to boost their midfield options. They picked up former Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul and striker Teemu Pukki on free transfers and they have also added Moritz Leitner, Felix Passlack and Jordan Rhodes to the squad.
The Canaries have also lost their star player James Maddison who went to Leicester for £25million and Josh Murphy to promoted Cardiff.
Birmingham City vs Norwich City – Head-to-head results
Norwich won both matches last season and have kept clean sheets in their last three encounters between the two teams.
Betting odds Birmingham City vs Norwich City
Date and time: Saturday 4 August, 3 pm
