Aiming to boost their survival chances in the third tier, Burton Albion welcome League One champions Birmingham City to the Pirelli Stadium on Easter Monday.
The Brewers forced a share of the spoils at Exeter City on Good Friday, whilst Blues were held to a lacklustre draw by Crawley Town in the Second City.
Match preview
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After ranking 20th in the 2023-24 League One table - one place and two points above the dreaded bottom four - Burton Albion are preparing for another almighty relegation dogfight during their final four matches, starting with the daunting visit of league-leading Birmingham on Easter Monday.
Despite the might of Blues, the Brewers will be relatively confident of picking up a much-needed result at the Pirelli Stadium from this match, especially considering their recent form, with Monday's hosts in the Midlands losing just one of their last four games, collecting seven points.
With 12 points left to fight for during the 2024-25 term, Gary Bowyer's men are sitting precariously in 20th spot in the League One standings, level on points with Bristol Rovers in the drop zone and four points behind Northampton Town, who are currently occupying 19th position.
Earning 20 points across 20 third-tier clashes at the Pirelli Stadium this campaign, only already-relegated Shrewsbury Town (18) have won fewer points at home, but the Brewers have enjoyed their Staffordshire base in recent times, beating both Leyton Orient and Huddersfield Town this month at the venue.
Joining last summer following a goal-laden spell in Scottish League One with Cove Rangers, Rumarn Burrell will be hoping to provide the attacking moments to keep Burton in the division, with the 24-year-old netting 10 open-play league goals so far - more than Birmingham's record signing Jay Stansfield.
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With the league title already wrapped up and Wembley heartbreak still fresh in the minds from last week, it is understandable that Birmingham were not at their sensational best against Crawley on Good Friday, when the relegation-threatened visitors escaped clutching a point following a goalless draw.
Leading marksman Stansfield, Keshi Anderson and Willum Willumsson all had standout chances to break the deadlock for Blues during the opening 20 minutes against the Red Devils, but the hosts were forced to settle for a ninth draw of the League One term after 41 matches.
After extending their unbeaten league run at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park to a staggering 22 matches last time out, Chris Davies's men are 12 clear of second-placed Wycombe Wanderers, targeting eight more points that would take the Second City club past the record points tally for the third tier.
All three of Blues' league defeats have arrived on the road this season, one of which was suffered against relegation fodder in November, when Gareth Ainsworth Shrewsbury won 3-2 against the League One juggernauts.
Birmingham are unbeaten across their last three competitive matches versus Burton, although the Pirelli Stadium has been an unhappy hunting ground for Blues, who have lost both of their two visits to the Staffordshire venue.
Team News
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Following a man-of-the-match performance against Exeter on Friday afternoon, Max Crocombe will continue in between the sticks for Burton.
The Brewers could be forced into an alteration at the back, though, with Jason Sraha replaced by Jack Armer at the interval in Devon last time out.
Birmingham are hopeful of welcoming Kieran Dowell back to the matchday squad, with the Ranger loanee absent from the Crawley draw due to illness.
Arriving from South Korea in February, left-back Lee Myung-Jae made his debut for Blues on Friday, and the defender could replace Alex Cochrane in the XI at the Pirelli Stadium.
With the title secured, the visitors' fringe players will be targeting starts, including Scotland international Grant Hanley and Lukas Jutkiewicz.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Godwin-Malife, Sweeney, Armer; Lofthouse, Williams, Chuake, Dodgson, McKiernan; Larsson, Burrell
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Laird, Hanley, Davies, Lee; Iwata, Leonard, Gardner-Hickman, Harris, Anderson; May
We say: Burton Albion 1-1 Birmingham City
With survival on the line over the next few weeks, Burton will be pumped and raring to cause an upset against champions Birmingham this weekend.
Blues have taken their foot off the gas with first place clinched, which could open the door for the Brewers to earn a valuable point at the Pirelli Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
