Birmingham vs Ipswich prediction: Blues to earn a point on Championship return | OneFootball

Birmingham City host Ipswich Town in the opening match of the 2025/26 Championship season, with both sides looking to lay down a marker as they make their respective returns to the second division.

Ipswich make their return to the EFL after a season-long stint in the Premier League, and with Kieran McKenna’s side eager to return to the top flight, they’ll be looking for the perfect start with an opening-day win over a promising Birmingham side.

The Blues were promoted to the second tier after a season that saw them accumulate an EFL record of 111 points in League One in 2024/25, and Chris Davies’ side are already among the favourites in the Championship promotion odds, priced at 21/10 before the season begins.

However, Ipswich are one of only two teams – the other being Southampton – who are seen as bigger favourites in the Championship title odds, with the influx of Premier League cash and the experience of McKenna potentially proving the difference not only this weekend, but throughout the promotion race.

Nevertheless, the opening fixtures can throw up plenty of surprises and a lot can depend on factors including home advantage, which may explain why football betting sites have Birmingham as the slight favourites in the opening game.

The fixture list has thrown up a fascinating opening match of the season in the Championship, with favourites Ipswich up against the disruptors in Birmingham (who coincidentally are also among the top three favourites to win the title).

Though Birmingham have received the investment to put them above plenty of other clubs in this league, the fact remains that they have just come up from League One, and though they returned at the first time of asking, over the course of a season the discrepancy in funding and squad quality may well become clear.

That is likely the reason why Ipswich and Southampton are the two favourites this season, with Leicester having dropped away likely due to their changing squad.

However, the start of any season often throws up surprising results as teams look to gel, and on an emotional opening night at St Andrews, it’s no surprise that the hosts are slight favourites for this one.

The Blues’ last loss came in the FA League Trophy final against Peterborough in April, with Ipswich having lost six of their last 10 as their stint in the tip flight came to an end.

While the quality of opponent is drastically different in those runs, the fact remains that the most important thing on opening night is to avoid a loss, especially against a potential title rival.

And with that in mind, we’re going for a draw with both teams to score – which is offered around 15/4 with various betting sites – in what we think will be a tight, tense affair at St Andrews.

Birmingham’s record 111-point League One campaign and their promotion to the Championshi has coincided with some serious investment from the club’s US ownership group, and perhaps the biggest sign of that investment to date was the signing of Jay Stansfield from Fulham for a whopping £15m, which remains another League One record.

But the investment paid off in this case as Stansfield finished as the second top scorer in the third division last season, netting 19 goals as Birmingham won the title.

While the England U21 striker had a quieter end to the season both at club level and during the U21 Euros, he remains the focal point of the Birmingham attack despite the signing of Kyogo Furuhashi, and we’re backing the 22-year-old to hit the ground running in the Championship, with odds of 7/4 on Stansfield to score anytime against Ipswich.

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