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Birmingham City squeezed past Bristol Rovers with a 2-1 win on Tuesday night to put automatic promotion in sight.
Keshi Anderson was the star, but Jay Stansfield’s late penalty ensured the win away to an impressive Gas side at the Memorial Stadium.
| Position | Team | Played | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Points |
| 1 | Birmingham City | 38 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 26 | 39 | 89 |
| 2 | Wrexham | 40 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 56 | 32 | 24 | 78 |
| 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | 39 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 65 | 36 | 29 | 75 |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 40 | 21 | 9 | 10 | 55 | 36 | 19 | 72 |
| 5 | Stockport County | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 58 | 36 | 22 | 71 |
Stansfield was praised by the Sky Studio prior to kick-off, while EFL experts have questioned Stansfield recently, especially his goalscoring record when ignoring penalties.
His form is why we also called for him to be dropped for Alfie May ahead of the clash with Bristol Rovers, but he was rewarded for a battling display to claim a goal.
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Birmingham City put in a performance of champions against Bristol Rovers
Blues have performed much more comfortably than this, which they can take solace from. A figure of just 0.28 open play xG and seven shots is well below the standards that they have set this season.
Having said that, winning when not at your best is the type of performance needed at this stage of the season to get over the line. Champions are crowned by their ability to dig in and fight to the last, which Birmingham did.
Many of their fans were saying the same, with one remarking: “Not a great performance, but all that matters is the three points, especially with the others dropping points – and another huge step towards promotion. Keshi MOTM for me. The Blue Machine rolls on.”
Another said: “Get in you Blue boys! Tough place to visit under the lights that. But champions find a way.”
One added: “Don’t you just love it when we play pretty rubbish and still win. 8 points from 8 games required for promotion and the title.”
Birmingham City should plan for life in the Championship with just eight points required
Birmingham are breaking recent League One records consistently at the moment, with some stats even annihilated as they get ever closer to promotion at the first attempt.
Mathematically, they need just eight points for promotion and 11 points for the title currently, although it is very likely to be less than that in the near future. That’s because neither Wrexham nor Wycombe Wanderers are averaging a points per game rate which will see them reach 90 points.
Essentially, they are just a point or two away from sealing promotion at this stage. Their owners, including Tom Brady’s heavy investment so far, can continue in 2025 once out of League One.
That’s after we exclusively revealed their summer plans recently. They will be looking to get to the Championship and to stay there, having finished 17th in 2019. That was their highest league position in the eight seasons they circled the drain.
In 2016, they finished 10th, with the top half surely the aim for this resurgent Blues side under Chris Davies’ tutelage.