Stoke City vs Birmingham City Prediction: Birmingham are unbeaten since new manager

Stoke City will welcome Birmingham City at Bet365 Stadium in Game Week 28 of the English Championship.

Stoke City's unbeaten streak in the Championship, led by Steven Schumacher, remained intact last weekend against Rotherham. Lewis Baker's impressive free-kick goal secured a 3-0 victory for Stoke City at the AESSEAL New York Stadium. Since Schumacher's arrival in December, he has had a positive impact on the team and has only suffered one defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in his first six matches in charge. With their relegation from the Premier League, Stoke City is solely focused on their second-tier campaign for the rest of the season. Currently sitting in 17th place, they hold a comfortable 10-point lead over Sheffield Wednesday in 22nd place. However, the eight-point gap between Stoke City and Coventry City in sixth place seems difficult to overcome. Andre Vidigal, who joined Stoke City from Maritimo in the summer, has showcased his talent and goal-scoring ability with five goals in 19 Championship appearances, including a goal against Birmingham on Boxing Day.

Iversen; Hoever, McNally, Rose, Thompson; Cundle, Burger, Baker; Vidigal, Leris, Mmaee

Tony Mowbray secured his first win as manager of Birmingham City on Tuesday night, defeating a weakened Hull side in a replay of the FA Cup third round at St Andrew's. However, for most of the match, it seemed that Hull, led by Liam Rosenior, would advance to face Leicester City instead. In the 63rd minute, Mowbray made five simultaneous substitutions that completely changed the course of the game. Jay Stansfield, who came off the bench, scored the equalizer, cancelling out Jason Eyenga-Lokilo's opening goal. Then, in the 93rd minute, substitute Koji Miyoshi scored the winning goal, sparing the fans from enduring another 30 minutes of freezing football. 

The previous match between Birmingham and Stoke on Boxing Day is widely regarded as the moment when Wayne Rooney's tenure as Blues manager was doomed. Birmingham suffered a 3-1 defeat with goals from Jordan Thompson, Lynden Gooch, and Stoke's top scorer Vidigal, sealing their fate. 

Under Mowbray's experienced leadership, Birmingham is currently in 20th place in the Championship standings, with a seven-point cushion between them and the relegation zone. The arrival of the former Sunderland boss has alleviated concerns of a relegation battle in the remaining months of the season. 

After scoring the equalizer in front of a sparse crowd at the Tilton Road end on Tuesday, Stansfield, who is on loan, signaled his commitment to Birmingham, despite interest from Ipswich Town, led by Kieran McKenna, during this month.

Ruddy; Drameh, Sanderson, Long, Buchanan; Bielik, Sunjic, Stansfield, James, Dembele; Hogan

Stoke will approach their match against Birmingham with confidence, having previously dominated their last encounter. However, Birmingham, now under Mowbray's management, is expected to provide a more challenging opposition. Despite struggling in their away games this season, Stoke is predicted to face tough competition and we believe that the points will be split on Saturday.