Birmingham City will be looking to take another step towards Championship safety when they entertain playoff-chasing Blackburn Rovers at St Andrew's on Saturday afternoon.
Blues picked up two important wins before the international break to ease relegation fears, while Blackburn will still be hurting following their quarter-final exit in the FA Cup.
Match preview
© Reuters
A gritty away performance at struggling Queens Park Rangers a fortnight ago handed Birmingham their second win in three matches - a short upturn in form that has their second-tier status almost secured for next season.
Tahith Chong finished off a swift counter attack from the Second City club at Loftus Road to secure three points, with the strike from the former Manchester United man - along with the assist from Juninho Bacuna - showing that Blues have the quality in patches to avoid a scrap for survival.
John Eustace's men currently sit 17th in the Championship standings, nine points ahead of 22nd-placed Huddersfield Town with just eight matches left to play, meaning a win on Saturday would go a long way in completely eliminating any relegation worries.
As an unclear ownership and takeover situation continues to swirl around St Andrew's, the playing staff are close to achieving their primary objective of this campaign - prevent the club from falling into the third tier of English football.
Blues have tended to fade away at the end of seasons in recent years, and head coach Eustace will be desperate to avoid an uninspiring finish to his first term in charge of the club.
© Reuters
Blackburn were 10 minutes away from a trip to Wembley just before the international break as they led in their FA Cup quarter-final clash at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United.
However, excitement would soon turn to despair for the travelling Rovers supporters, as late goals from Blades duo Oli McBurnie and Thomas Doyle dramatically booted the visitors out of the competition at the last-eight stage.
Jon Dahl Tomasson will no doubt use that heartbreaking defeat as motivation to end the Championship season on the ultimate high, with a trip to Wembley still well within reach for the Lancashire club.
Rovers are sat fifth in the second-tier standings, four points ahead of seventh-placed Norwich City and eighth-placed Coventry City, with both of those sides having played a game more than Tomasson's men.
Blackburn have already won at St Andrew's this season, but it took 120 minutes and an Auston Trusty own goal to secure their passage into the fifth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Birmingham in January.
Team News
© Reuters
Birmingham duo Bacuna and Hannibal Mejbri will return to training on Friday following international duty for Curacao and Tunisia respectively, meaning their inclusions in the starting XI on Saturday are in doubt.
Dion Sanderson's season seems to be over after the defender suffered a back injury - Kevin Long and Marc Roberts are likely to be the central-defensive partnership in this one for the hosts.
Troy Deeney continues to recover from a hamstring injury and is expected to be back at some point this month, whilst Jobe Bellingham remains sidelined due to an abdominal issue.
Blackburn have a pair of hamstring injuries within their ranks ahead of a weekend trip to the West Midlands, with Bradley Dack and Daniel Ayala out of action until later this month.
Youngster Jack Vale enjoyed his first sustained period in the Rovers side during the early part of 2023, but the Welshman is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Colin, Roberts, Long, Trusty; Bielik, Bacuna, Chong, Hall, Khadra; Jutkiewicz
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Rankin-Costello, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Travis, Morton, Thomas, Szmodics, Brereton; Gallagher
We say: Birmingham City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Birmingham are a result away from almost-certain Championship safety, but it is seldom the way of Blues to get their survival business done early in the second tier.
Blackburn are on the home straight in their quest for a top-six finish, and we believe they will bounce back from their defeat in the FA Cup with a maximum at St Andrew's on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
