Birmingham City have secured promotion to the EFL Championship from League One following their victory against Peterborough.
Chris Davies’ Blues side needed a win to secure their return to the second division. Failure to pick up three points would have meant they needed third-placed Wycombe Wanderers to drop points in their game against Huddersfield Town. The Chairboys secured victory in their game, but goals from Alfie May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman mean they are clear of the third-placed side.
Birmingham are now 17 points clear of Wycombe Wanderers, who will be eyeing second-placed Wrexham. That chase with the Dragons could go to the wire with five games remaining and three points between the two. Should Wrexham lose to Wigan Athletic on Saturday, the Blues will secure the third division title.
Birmingham City secure expected promotion
Last summer’s transfer window was a busy one for the Blues, who spent a total of around £30 million to reinforce their squad. They were taking no chances hanging around in the third tier, beating second division sides to the signing of players from the Premier League like Jay Stansfield and Marc Leonard.
With the financial backing that few in the division could boast, you would expect this achievement from the side, but that is not to take away from this. Alfie May has been a player accustomed to the third division, while plenty of teams in the second division would have been more than happy to bring in a player like Jay Stansfield.
Birmingham City can now focus on further achievements
With such a commanding lead at the top of the table, the Blues can now focus on securing the league title. They are 14 points clear of Wrexham at the top, holding a game in hand over the newly promoted side, who will also be focused on promotion to the second tier.
Racking up 95 points in their 40 games, an average of 2.3 points per game, the side is two games away from reaching the 100-point mark. Reaching 29 games won, they are four games from breaking local rivals Aston Villa’s record of 32 wins in a season, a record that dates back to the 1970s in the old third division.
The Villains are not the only local rivals that they could get one over on, with Wolves‘ record of 113 points in a season also beatable for the League One giants, who could reach 118 points. The Blues could have more reason to celebrate this weekend when they face Peterborough United again at Wembley in the EFL Trophy final. This would be the side’s first silverware since 2011 after they surprised Arsenal in the League Cup final.