Southampton vs Birmingham City Prediction: Saints are unbeaten in five games

Southampton will welcome Birmingham City at St Mary's Stadium in Game Week 14 of the English Championship. Saints are looking to extend their unbeaten run to six games in the League when they face new looking Birmingham. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Southampton managed to maintain their progress in the Championship with a 2-2 draw against Preston North End at Deepdale on Wednesday evening. Despite being on the verge of their fifth defeat of the season, Southampton were able to secure a point after a five-match unbeaten run.

Kyle Walker-Peters, the right-back who was previously with Tottenham Hotspur, showcased his skills and scored the opening goal for Russell Martin's team. However, goals from Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts quickly turned the game around in the second half. Southampton's manager commended the contributions of substitutes Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Fraser in his post-match interview. In a surprising turn of events, Southampton's goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu forced Preston's Ched Evans to score an own goal from a corner, resulting in the equalizer during added time.

While Leicester City, another recently relegated team, is performing well in the Championship under the leadership of Enzo Maresca, Southampton is determined to narrow the gap with second-placed Ipswich Town. Currently, Southampton sits in fifth position in the league standings, 10 points behind Ipswich Town.

Since the departure of key players James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia, and Nathan Tella during the summer transfer window, head coach Martin's main objective is to guide Southampton back to the top flight of English football while integrating several new players into the squad.

Southampton's last encounter with Saturday's opponent, Leicester City, at St Mary's Stadium took place in September 2011. The match ended with a commanding 4-1 victory for Southampton, with goals from Ricky Lambert and Adam Lallana.

Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Holgate, Bednarek, Manning; Smallbone, Downes, Charles; Armstrong, Sulemana, Mara

Birmingham's turbulent beginning with Wayne Rooney as their manager continued at St Andrew's against Hull on Wednesday night, in front of a crowd of 19,000. The team looked completely different from the defensively strong group that former manager John Eustace had put together two weeks ago. Despite struggling against Middlesbrough in Rooney's first match in charge, Birmingham stuck to their attacking style against Hull and were quickly punished when Manny Longelo made a poor back pass, allowing Liam Delap to score the opening goal. The full-backs, Cody Drameh and Longelo, frequently pushed forward, leaving the centre-back pairing of Dion Sanderson and Kevin Long exposed. Hull's Jaden Philogene took advantage of the space and scored a curling shot in the second half. Rooney has acknowledged that some members of the squad have concerns about his attacking approach and he plans to adapt his philosophy for the upcoming match on the South Coast to better suit the players' abilities. Birmingham has struggled away from home this season, earning only four points from six Championship games. Their last away win was in August against Bristol City. After two consecutive losses, Birmingham has dropped from sixth to 12th place in the league table. However, the poor performances of Rotherham United, Queens Park Rangers, and Sheffield Wednesday have given Rooney at least six games to implement his ideas before concerns about relegation become serious.

Ruddy; Drameh, Sanderson, Aiwu, Longelo; Bielik, James, Gardner; Dembele, Miyoshi, Stansfield

Southampton is displaying the characteristics of a determined team striving to regain its place in the Premier League. With their current unbeaten streak, the Saints can be optimistic about maintaining this momentum against Birmingham, who are currently adapting to a new head coach. Birmingham's challenging series of matches persists as they face Southampton on the South Coast. Given the visitors' defensive vulnerabilities under Rooney, Southampton's offensive players will certainly exploit this opportunity without hesitation. Expect over 2.5 goals in the game.