• Leicester came from 1-0 down to beat Sheffield Wednesday in their first Championship home fixture

• Birmingham striker Jay Stansfield scored in his first three appearances of the season

• Recommended bet: Birmingham to win

Leicester and Birmingham were two divisions apart last season, but their early performances in 2025-26 suggest a tight Championship contest is on the cards on Friday.

The Foxes, relegated from the Premier League, have won two of their first three league games, although they had to work hard to see off Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton.

Birmingham won the League One title in record-breaking fashion under Chris Davies.

They followed up a 1-1 draw with title favourites Ipswich on the opening day of the Championship season with narrow wins over Blackburn and Oxford.

The latest Leicester vs Birmingham odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Team news

Leicester right-back Ricardo Pereira should be fit enough to start, but centre-back Harry Souttar and forward Bobby De Cordova-Reid are sidelined and Stephy Mavdidi is a doubt.

Bilal El Khannouss, who has been linked with several Premier League clubs, is unlikely to feature.

Birmingham have no fresh injury concerns as left-back Alex Cochrane returned to action as a second-half substitute in Tuesday's EFL Cup defeat to Port Vale.

Winger Lewis Koumas should be in the squad after arriving on a season-long loan from Liverpool.

The stats

Leicester have been trailing at half-time in two of their first three Championship games, while both teams have scored in three of the Foxes' first four matches in all competitions.

Two of Leicester's last three home wins were by 2-0 scorelines.

Birmingham have not conceded a first-half goal in three league fixtures this season and there have been under 3.5 goals in 12 of Birmingham's last 13 games in all competitions.

Birmingham have won 12 of their last 16 league and cup matches.

The latest Leicester vs Birmingham odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Prediction

A much-changed Birmingham side lost 1-0 at home to Port Vale in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, but they can bounce back at Leicester on Friday.

The big-spending Blues are targeting back-to-back promotions and they appear to be serious contenders for a return to the Premier League.

Ante-post title favourites Ipswich needed an injury-time penalty to salvage a point at Birmingham in their first game of the season and Leicester look uneasy favourites for Friday's showdown.

They are just one point behind the Blues after three games, but clearly need time to adjust to a new division and a new manager, Marti Cifuentes.

The Foxes came from behind to beat 10-man Wednesday 2-1 in their first home fixture thanks to set-piece goals from defenders Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes.

That was followed by a penalty-shootout defeat at League One side Huddersfield in the EFL Cup, a 2-1 defeat at Preston and a 1-0 win at Charlton.

Birmingham, who knocked out Sheffield United in the League Cup and scored two late goals to win at Blackburn in the league, are capable of silencing the King Power Stadium.

Manager Chris Davies has some serious attacking talent in his squad, with Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas joining Jay Stansfield, Demarai Gray, Kyogo Furuhashi and Lyndon Dykes at the club.

His side conceded only 31 goals in 46 League One matches last season and the Blues' defenders are coping well with the step up to the Championship.

They have allowed only four shots on target – one of them a penalty – in their first three games and are worth backing to claim a statement victory at Leicester.

Back Birmingham to win available at 17/10 with LiveScore Bet