Aiming to reach the 100-point mark in the third tier, champions Birmingham City will visit Stevenage at the Lamex Stadium in League One on Thursday night.
The Boro are targeting a top-half finish to round off a mediocre campaign, whilst Blues are well on their way to breaking a host of EFL records during the final four matches of their schedule.
Match preview
© Imago
Following a woeful run of a single victory in eight games recently, Stevenage recorded a much-needed away success on Easter Monday, when a first-half strike from Northern Ireland international Jamie Reid was enough to secure maximum points at the Memorial Stadium versus Bristol Rovers.
After their triumph in the West Country last time out, the Boro are occupying 14th spot in the League One standings with three matches left to play before the end of the season, a comfortable 12 points from relegation and just three points behind Barnsley, who are the lowest of the top-half clubs.
Alex Revell's side have struggled at the Lamex Stadium of late - winning only one of their last six third-tier clashes at the venue - although Thursday night's hosts enjoyed a stellar afternoon at their base earlier this month, when they smashed three goals past relegation-threatened Crawley Town.
With marksman Reid struggling to perform at his best during stages of this term, summer arrival Dan Kemp has stepped up to the goalscoring plate for Stevenage, netting a commendable 10 goals from midfield in League One, after bagging 17 strikes in League Two last season.
The Boro have already faced Birmingham twice this calendar year and failed on both occasions to get one over Chris Davies's crop, losing an EFL Trophy quarter-final clash at the Lamex in early February, before suffering defeat in the Second City during a third-tier battle on March 11.
© Imago
After going two straight games without finding the net against Peterborough United and lowly Crawley recently, Birmingham City found their shooting boots once again in Staffordshire on Easter Monday, when they secured a 2-1 victory at the base of League Two-bound Burton Albion.
Unsurprisingly, title-winning Blues dominated proceedings at the Pirelli Stadium, stepping up a gear during the closing stages of the first half to put the contest beyond the Brewers, with Alfons Sampsted netting his first goal for the club, a minute before Jay Stansfield slotted home his 19th of the league campaign.
Collecting their 30th third-tier success of a record-breaking 2024-25 campaign last time out, Birmingham are sitting pretty at the summit of the League One table boasting 99 points, meaning that only a single result is needed for the Second City giants to smash the 100-point barrier.
Arguably the best attacking pair in the division this term, £20m man Stansfield and League One expert Alfie May have scored a combined 34 goals for the runaway champions, with both strikers battling the likes of Charlie Kelman and Richard Kone for the league's Golden Boot.
With automatic promotion to the Championship and the title wrapped up, head coach Davies will use the final quartet of fixtures to provide opportunities for some of the starting XI's fringe players, with the likes of Marc Leonard and Grant Hanley deserving of chances to impress.
Team News
© Imago
After keeping a clean sheet at the home of Bristol Rovers earlier in the week, Stevenage should stick with a centre-back pairing of Carl Piergianni and Charlie Goode.
The involvement of Jake Forster-Caskey is in serious doubt, though, after the midfielder was forced off during the first half of the West Country success.
Surely deserving of a break from starting duties, defender Christoph Klarer could drop to the Birmingham bench at the Lamex, allowing Ben Davies to regain his spot in the side.
Keshi Anderson, Paik Seung-ho and Ethan Laird all started on the bench at the Pirelli on Easter Monday, with the trio expected to feature more prominently in Stevenage.
Blues remain without the services of Scottish duo Scott Wright and Lyndon Dykes, with the former not set to return until the end of 2025.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Ashby-Hammond; Wildin, Goode, Piergianni, Freestone; Thompson, White, Edwards, Roberts, List; Reid
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Laird, Hanley, Davies; Cochrane; Paik, Leonard, Dowell, Willumsson, Anderson; May
We say: Stevenage 1-2 Birmingham City
With nothing tangible at stake for both Stevenage and Birmingham, we are expecting a relaxed atmosphere at the Lamex Stadium on Thursday night.
An open contest would surely suit title-winning Blues, who look set to smash past the 100-point mark in front of a sold-out away following.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
