Birmingham City are targeting the Premier League but their home form won't take them there yet

Jay Stansfield scored Birmingham's first equaliser against Wolves
Jay Stansfield scored Birmingham's first equaliser against Wolves (Image credit: Getty Images)

Birmingham City owners have wanted to move the club to a new stadium since before any of their current team, unbeaten after five league matches this season, were born.

Tom Wagner is the latest, and the closest yet to putting concrete plans in place. Birmingham’s American owner suffered a stroke in February and Sunday’s Championship match against Wolverhampton Wanderers was the first he’s watched in person since.

Warmly welcomed back, Wagner saw something he already knew: Birmingham might need a new home to fulfil their long-term ambitions but they’re going to lose a lot when they finally say goodbye to the old one.

Birmingham have drawn their first three home fixtures

Tom Wagner returned to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for the first time this season

Tom Wagner returned to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for the first time this season (Image credit: Birmingham City)

The Blues finished in the top 10 last season, a good way off promotion in the end, but eighth would be enough for a play-off place for the first time this season and then it’s anyone’s game. Sometimes it really isn’t about the journey.

It took Birmingham 10 matches to reach a third home draw last season and they won six of the others in their first year back in the Championship under Chris Davies. This season, they’ve drawn three out of three at St Andrew’s.

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In 2025-26, Birmingham were in the best four teams at home in the Championship and in the bottom four away. For a club with goals, the obvious objective is to keep the home form strong and capitalise on away improvements to climb the table.

One can be the differentiator, but only if the other remains the foundation.

Davies will still expect both of those outcomes to happen – football seasons don’t develop overnight – but the first home win of 2026-27 is yet to materialise.

Consecutive draws with Southampton and Wolves suggest a deeper truth. Birmingham couldn’t translate them into wins but they put in two positive performances to bag a couple of points against teams who’d back themselves to finish above Blues in April.

This West Midlands derby was every inch the Championship slobberknocker, brimming with chaotic end-to-end football that somehow culminated in Birmingham centre-back Phil Neumann stomping upfield late in the day to create a chance his manager felt should have been turned into a winner.

Jackson Tchatchoua's remarkable own goal earned Birmingham a point

Jackson Tchatchoua's remarkable own goal earned Birmingham a point (Image credit: Getty Images)

Davies praised Wolves’ attacking midfielder Fer Lopez after the game. The Spaniard knocked in the first goal of a pulsating 2-2 draw after Tomoki Iwata’s header went astray in the middle of the pitch.

Wolves were almost aggressively confident in possession after they got their noses in front but Birmingham earned their foothold, raised the tempo and dragged the visitors into a derby.

Jay Stansfield controlled a perfect pass from Patrick Roberts – Wolves manager Cesar Peixoto said with his arm, Stansfield insisted not – and thrashed in a tremendous equaliser.

Blues’ home wait goes on – it won’t go on for long

What followed was a Ladislav Krejci header from a corner that put Wolves back in front and one of the great own goals to make it 2-2.

Peixoto defended Jackson Tchatchoua to the hilt after the fact and did the same for Adam Armstrong, whose late miss would in another era have been guaranteed the next spot in a Danny Baker Christmas VHS.

Birmingham had their chances too, notably a header wide from captain Christoph Klarer, and both bosses were left to count the cost of what they considered two points dropped.

Birmingham boss Chris Davies was impressed by his team against Southampton and Wolves

Birmingham boss Chris Davies (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Davies won’t have to wait much longer to revel in three points at St Andrew’s.

Birmingham have the same fire at home as last season. The stadium feels the same when the Blues have their tails up and visiting teams still know they’re in for a game. It hasn’t yielded a win yet but it’ll come.

Replicating home wins away will go a long way in the short-term. Maintaining the formidable aura of St Andrew’s once it’s gone will be much more fruitful.

Chris is a Warwickshire-based freelance football writer specialising in West Midlands football, the Premier League, the EFL and the J.League. He is the author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review. He supports Coventry Sphinx.

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