Just two Championship sides can better Birmingham City for impressive stat going into World Cup

Birmingham City head into the World Cup in 13th place in the Sky Bet Championship after an impressive run of form before the break. Sunderland managed to get the better of John Eustace’s side in their last outing before the Qatar tournament, but overall it’s been a terrific start to the campaign.

In one area of the field there are in fact just two teams in the entire division that can better Blues’ record - and they are both in the top half. It is of course the defensive side of things we are referring to, as Eustace’s men have conceded just 20 goals in the opening 21 league games.

Only Coventry (18), who have played two fewer matches, and Sheffield United (19) can better Blues in this particular statistic. The latter are of course Championship title contenders, so a good defensive display is expected from them - but for Birmingham to be right up there is a testament to how well they’ve done.

Over the last five campaigns, it has been torrid viewing for Bluenoses as their side have not once finished above 17th in the table. But this could soon change if Blues can continue their momentum after the World Cup.

The internationals come at just about the right time as Birmingham had been exhausted by a very congested fixture schedule. 11 games in six weeks just about finished them off and you could even argue results against the likes of Sunderland and Millwall may have been better had things been a bit more regular. Blues’ first game back after the break is away at Blackpool, on December 10.