Blues Face Canaries as Championship Action Resumes
Birmingham City return to Championship action this Saturday afternoon with a home fixture against Norwich City, as the clock continues to tick down on their tenure at St Andrew's. The match arrives just days after Tom Wagner officially started the stopwatch on the club's future, unveiling designs for a new 62,000-seater stadium at a gala event.
However, with the new ground not set for completion until at least 2030, the immediate focus for manager Chris Davies is ensuring the feelgood factor from two consecutive 4-0 home wins isn't dissipated by Philippe Clement's first match in charge of the visiting Canaries.
Team Selection Headaches for Davies
Davies has several factors to weigh up as he selects his starting eleven. The Blues will definitely be without the injured Paik Seung-ho, who picked up a knock against Middlesbrough. International duty has also impacted the squad, with players like Demarai Gray and Bright Osayi-Samuel accumulating significant travel miles with Jamaica and Nigeria respectively.
In more positive news, Lyndon Dykes will be buoyant after helping Scotland qualify for their first World Cup since 1998, and the early return of James Beadle from England Under-21 duty will not affect his availability for the match.
Our Writers' Predicted Lineup
Our Birmingham City writers, Alex Dicken and Brian Dick, have both had a go at predicting the team Chris Davies will send out against Norwich.
Alex Dicken's Prediction: He believes James Beadle will retain his place in goal, with an unchanged back four. This means Tomoki Iwata continues at right-back, preserving his productive partnership with Patrick Roberts. To replace Paik, Marc Leonard is tipped to start in midfield alongside Tommy Doyle, who may adopt a more creative role. In attack, the only debate is on the left wing, where Keshi Anderson could get the nod over the heavily-travelled Demarai Gray for added freshness.
Brian Dick's Prediction: Echoing much of Alex's thinking, Brian also sees a settled defence and a start for Leonard in midfield. He agrees that the partnership between Jay Stansfield and Marvin Ducksch is developing well through the middle. Considering the upcoming midweek game against West Brom, Brian suggests Davies might play it safe with Demarai Gray from the start.
Agreed Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Leonard, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Anderson; Ducksch.
What team do you think Chris Davies should pick? Have your say on the selection.
