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Promotion, relegation and Stansfield verdict - Birmingham City 26/27 Championship predictions Birmingham City begin their Championship season with a trip to Sheffield United on Saturday The wait is almost over with Birmingham City about to begin their latest 46-game quest to reach the Premier League. Blues open up with a tricky test at Sheffield United on Saturday hoping to lay down a marker away from home having struggled on their travels last season. Chris Davies and his players are looking to improve on a 10th-placed finish and have added six players to their squad following the acquisition of midfielder Max Bird from Bristol City on Friday. The play-offs have been extended to eighth place, meaning Blues and their rivals have to finish in the top third of the Championship to have a shot at promotion. Alex Dicken (AD) and Brian Dick (BD) have given their predictions on the Keep Right On Podcast... Championship winners AD: West Ham BD: West Ham Promoted AD: West Ham, Middlesbrough, Norwich BD: West Ham, Middlesbrough, Southampton Relegated AD: Bolton, Lincoln, Blackburn BD: Bolton, Lincoln, Blackburn Top scorer AD: Jarrod Bowen BD: Raul Jimenez Surprise package AD: Cardiff Brian: Norwich Where will Blues finish? AD: 7th – Blues were five points off eighth last season and that would equal a play-off position this season, I think they will have enough to do that. We’ve mentioned some very strong teams in terms of who we think will get promoted, and this is a very strong Championship, but I think the continuity they’ve got is key this year. They’ve clearly learnt their lessons away from home and have a lot more physicality about them now, a lot more height in their team and look a threat from set pieces. I think they can do a little bit better than last season, I just don’t think they have the quality on their squad that teams like West Ham, Wolves, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Burnley will have – I put those five ahead of the rest. Burnley and Wolves have two unknown managers and could fall by the wayside, we’ve seen that happen before, but they have better quality squads than Blues. I think a top-eight finish, if you’re looking at sixth, seventh or eighth, would be a really good result for Blues. BD: 8th – They have talked extensively about improving the away form and finding more goals – it was 57 last season, they need to be up in the seventies. The set piece thing will be a big part of that, it will get them some of the way, and a big part of it will be counter-attack goals. They do need some pace to get them up the pitch. Vicente is quick, Gray is more of a glider than a flier. It depends on which other winger they bring in. If they get Ibrahim Osman back I do think they can get 70-plus goals just because of his sheer athleticism. If they don’t get him, it will be interesting to see who they bring in to give them that X-Factor. They’ver just got their toes inside a play-off place for me at the moment, looking at their squad without a game being played and with several weeks to go in the transfer window. EFL expert Gab Sutton has predicted Blues to finish seventh. Speaking courtesy of Bet365 News, Sutton said: “There are still a few question marks in terms of relationships and partnerships across the pitch. It's not so much do we have the individual quality to get top-eight, but are we going to be able to find a formula, cohesion? “As much as I do have some concerns over Christoph Klarer being a right footer on the left, I do think we're better at centre-half with Dael Fry alongside him. “Then we've signed Luis Vazquez to complement Jay Stansfield. I'm hopeful that he's going to facilitate Jay Stansfield having a big season in terms of getting behind. He just needs the right foil that he's not really had in either season since joining the club permanently. “Then can that midfield go up another level? I've got a few reasons to believe we will improve on last season, not drastically, but enough to make the top-eight.” Who will have a breakthrough season? AD: August Priske – The way he’s gone through pre-season and started at Swansea, I would back him to have a really strong season. A strong season for him, given his profile, is double figures in goals and starting 30-35 games. BD: James Beadle – I’m going off the crumbs of what we’ve seen, including a pre-season error against Barcelona! I just feel like he’s going to make a step and I don’t really know what I’m basing that off other than blind optimism. Chris Davies rates him as a goalkeeper and if I’m not quite seeing it I’m going to outsource my level of conviction to everyone else. While he does have a couple of tendencies I would rather he didn’t have, I would say he’s coming back to Blues a more confident, more assertive, maybe even more physically mature goalkeeper. The save he pulled off against Swansea, low to his left, might be the best save he’s pulled off in a Blues shirt. Give us a bold Blues prediction…. AD: Jay Stansfield to hit 20 goals in all competitions. BD: Carlos Vicente to make Championship Team of the Year.