Championship death wish for Birmingham City as Sheffield Wednesday delivers the decisive blow
The 2023–24 season’s final kick will determine who will be relegated in the Sky Bet Championship.
After the disappointing 1-1 draw away at Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon, Birmingham City’s destiny in the Sky Bet Championship is now firmly out of their hands.
Gary Rowett’s team lost to already-relegated Rotherham United last week, marking the second time in as many games that Blues had made mistakes. Plymouth Argyle would have been in the bottom three with only one victory from the two games, but the Blues are currently in 22nd place because of their own incompetence and seeming desire to end the Championship.
Next Saturday, May 4, is the campaign’s last day, but Birmingham’s safety isn’t assured even if they defeat Norwich City. With three permanent managers and three interims, it has been a chaotic season, but few could have truly predicted that Blues would be in this situation once John Eustace left.
Flying back in October, Birmingham were up in sixth place and hoping for a play-off fight or at least a top-half finish. After Huddersfield Town was crushed 4-1 at St Andrew’s, West Bromwich Albion, the local rivals, was defeated 2-1 by a late free kick from Gary Gardner. However, after six months, it fails miserably.
Sheffield Blues’ recent difficulties have been punished by Wednesday’s victory. The South Yorkshire team has been in a strong position thanks to Danny Rohl’s outstanding leadership, which has seen them win three of their previous five games and draw two. They are now 20th, even ahead of Plymouth, after their 3-0 victory over West Brom on Saturday.
Final day schedule and substitutions
Birmingham is aware that in order to have a realistic chance of surviving in the Championship, they need to defeat Norwich on May 4. One point separates Plymouth on the 21st, however there is a four goal differential between them. A draw would be sufficient for the Blues if Argyle fell to Hull City, who are vying for the play-offs, by five goals or more, but that seems improbable.
The three points raise the total to 50 in the event that Rowett’s team wins, greatly increasing their chances of surviving. However, Blues will still be down if three other results take place: Plymouth defeating Hull, Wednesday edging out a draw at Sunderland, and Blackburn escaping a loss at the hands of the already-promoted Leicester.
To be clear, Championship football will be guaranteed for the upcoming season if Birmingham secures three points and any of Plymouth, Wednesday, or Blackburn suffer a defeat. As previously stated, a draw will only be sufficient if Plymouth loses by a substantial margin. With their goal differential, Huddersfield is pretty much out of the picture.
