Seeking to address their alarming slide towards the bottom three, Birmingham City will welcome Preston North End to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for a Championship clash on Monday afternoon.
Blues are on the brink of entering the relegation places following a heartbreaking defeat at Queens Park Rangers, whereas the Lilywhites are aiming for the top six after smashing Rotherham United.
Match preview
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Eight years on from being shockingly sacked by a failing ownership, Gary Rowett returned to the Birmingham City managerial hotseat on Friday afternoon as his side face relegation rivals QPR in the capital, but the 50-year-old did not enjoy a winning reunion this time around.
After a curling effort from Juninho Bacuna handed the Second City club a second-half lead at Loftus Road, the visitors found themselves pegged back just three minutes later due to a Steve Cook effort, and in added-on time Jimmy Dunne unleashed a long-range strike past the helpless John Ruddy to steal maximum points for the R's.
Since Tony Mowbray stepped down from his managerial duties at Birmingham to receive treatment for a medical diagnosis, Blues have collected just a single point in their last seven Championship matches, leaving them at serious risk of dropping down to League One for only the second time in their history.
A seven-game winless run since the 2-1 win over Michael Beale's Sunderland has seen Blues drop down to 21st in the second-tier standings, sitting ahead of 22nd-placed Huddersfield Town due to the Terriers' inferior goal difference.
With Lukas Jutkiewicz playing a less-prominent role in starting XIs this term, the goalscoring burden has fallen onto the young shoulders of Jay Stansfield and Wales international Jordan James, with the pair netting nine and eight league goals respectively in 2023-24.
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Following a serious lull in form at the tail end of 2023, Preston have given their faint top-six hopes a massive boost in recent weeks, securing back-to-back wins for Plymouth Argyle and League One-bound Rotherham either side of the international break.
Facing a Millers side who have failed to win away from the AESSEAL New York Stadium this season, it was no surprise that the Lilywhites made lightwork of their Yorkshire counterparts on Good Friday, with an Emil Riis Jakobsen brace and a strike from Duane Holmes securing all three points.
Having lost just one of their last ten second-tier clashes, Ryan Lowe's men have moved up to eighth in the Championship table with eight matches left to play, lying five points behind David Wagner's Norwich City, who occupy the lowest of the playoff positions.
The Lilywhites are unbeaten during their last four visits to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, including a victory in this fixture during the 2022-23 campaign, when first-half strikes from Ryan Ledson and Alan Browne sealed maximum points against John Eustace's Birmingham.
Team News
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Operating with a back three under Rowett in his first game, Aiwu, Dion Sanderson and Lee Buchanan are expected to form the backline once again on Monday.
There could be an alteration further forward, though, with Welsh youngster James potentially replacing Paik Seung-ho in the middle of the park.
With cult hero Jutkiewicz sidelined due to an ankle injury, Fulham loanee Stansfield is set to lead the line again, although Rowett could opt to bring Scott Hogan back in from the wilderness under Mowbray.
Preston remain without the services of striker Ched Evans, who suffered a knee injury in early March and is not fit for selection on Easter Monday.
The nature of the Lilywhites' win over Rotherham allowed Lowe to rest some legs early in the second half, with both Jordan Storey and Robbie Brady playing just 60 minutes last time out.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Aiwu, Sanderson, Buchanan; Laird, James, Bielik, Drameh; Bacuna, Miyoshi, Stansfield
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Hughes, Lindsay; Holmes, Browne, McCann, Brady, Frokjaer-Jensen; Keane, Jakobsen
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Preston North End
With relegation becoming more of a possibility as the season progresses, Birmingham need a positive result to halt a worrying slide since the loss of Mowbray.
Preston are aiming to string a couple of wins together in order to keep pace with the top six, but we feel that the Lilywhites will have to settle for a point here.
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Carter White
