Few fixtures in English football stretch back as far, or run as close, as Birmingham City against Leeds United. Since their first meeting in December 1920, the two clubs have built up one of the most evenly balanced head-to-head records in the domestic game, with 111 competitive fixtures played across more than a century.
Full head-to-head record: Birmingham City 42 wins, Leeds United 43 wins, 26 draws (111 meetings). Since debuting against each other in the old Second Division, the sides have met in League Division One, League Division Two, the Championship, the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
The early years (1920s–1930s)
The rivalry began on 18 December 1920, when Birmingham City won 1-0 in a Division Two clash. Leeds gained early revenge with a 1-0 win of their own two weeks later on New Year’s Day 1921. Both clubs spent much of the interwar period fluctuating between the top two divisions, and their meetings during this stretch produced some eye-catching scorelines, including a 5-1 Birmingham win in December 1928 and a 4-0 Birmingham victory in September 1933.
Post-war highs and lows (1940s–1980s)
Birmingham enjoyed a particularly strong run through the late 1940s and 1950s, including a 5-1 win in February 1948 and a thumping 6-2 victory in April 1957. Leeds, however, began to assert themselves as the two clubs traded places between the top two tiers through the 1960s, 70s and 80s — a period that also produced two FA Cup ties, in 1972 and 1977, both won by Leeds.
The Premier League era and beyond (1990s–2010s)
The clubs’ paths crossed less frequently once both had spent time outside the top two divisions of English football, but two League Cup meetings in 1996 (both Leeds wins) and an FA Cup tie in 1998 (a 3-2 Leeds win) kept the rivalry alive. Birmingham’s promotion to the Premier League in 2002 brought a fresh chapter, highlighted by a 4-1 Birmingham win at St Andrew’s in March 2004 and a 3-0 FA Cup victory in January 2005. Once Leeds dropped into the Championship, the fixture became an annual staple, with the pendulum swinging back and forth — Birmingham won 1-4 away at Elland Road in January 2012, while Leeds hit back with wins including a 4-0 victory at St Andrew’s in October 2013.
Recent meetings
The 2010s produced arguably the most dramatic recent instalment: a 5-4 Leeds win at St Andrew’s in December 2019, a game remembered for its chaotic, end-to-end nature. Birmingham responded with a 1-0 win in August 2023, before Leeds took the reverse fixture 3-0 on New Year’s Day 2024 as they pushed for promotion back to the Premier League. The two clubs met again in the FA Cup in February 2026, sharing a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s.
Key stats at a glance
- Total meetings: 111
- Birmingham City wins: 42
- Leeds United wins: 43
- Draws: 26
- First meeting: 18 December 1920 (Birmingham City 1-0 Leeds United)
- Biggest Birmingham win: 6-2 (April 1957)
- Most recent meeting: February 2026, FA Cup, 1-1 draw
- Most common competition: League football (Division One/Two, Championship), with five FA Cup ties and two League Cup ties also featuring
Why the rivalry endures
Part of what makes this fixture compelling is the almost mirror-image nature of the two clubs’ recent histories — both sides with spells in the Premier League, both enduring relegations, and both regularly meeting each other in the Championship over the last two decades. With the head-to-head record separated by a single win in Leeds’ favour after 111 matches, few rivalries in English football are as genuinely balanced. Whether it’s a physical relegation battle or a promotion six-pointer, Birmingham vs Leeds has rarely been short of drama, and with both clubs still competing in the same tiers of English football, the next chapter is likely to arrive again before too long.
