Birmingham City hope to put behind them last week's defeat as they welcome former manager John Eustace and Blackburn Rovers to the EFL Championship.
Blues suffered a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, but Tony Mowbray didn't believe that there were reasons to be concerned. Birmingham are now just three points off of the relegation zone and should results go against them then they could find themselves in the bottom three this weekend.
Tuesday's opponents Blackburn won 3-1 against Stoke City as the new manager bounce worked for them. Jon Dahl Tomasson left Ewood Park late last week and former Blues boss John Eustace was already lined up. He managed proceedings against Stoke and saw his new club win thanks to goals from Tyhrys Dolan and talisman Sammie Szmodics.
Blackburn are currently 17th and are two places higher than Birmingham. A win for Mowbray's men would see them move above Millwall whilst for Blackburn they could move up two places to 15th.
Wayne Rooney was in charge when the two sides met in Lancashire back at the end of November. Sammie Szmodics' brace and an effort from James Hill saw Blackburn race in to a three-goal lead and they survived Siriki Dembele's two efforts by scoring through Harry Leonard in stoppage time which secured the victory. Blackburn have a fairly decent record against Birmingham and their 1-0 defeat back in April 2023 in which Eustace was in charge was their only loss in nine matches against them.
Birmingham's home form hasn't been the greatest over the last few matches and are without a win in their last five games in front of their own supporters. Lukas Juktiewicz likes scoring against Blackburn and has scored five goals against them, the third-most against a club in his career though he's without a goal against them in his last four league matches.
Tony Mowbray will have some decisions to make when it comes to team selection. Birmingham have still got a few players out that are nursing some injuries, and he will have to make a decision on whether to include some of them. Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off.
1. Alex Pritchard - doubt
Struggling with tightness in his calf. Missed the game against Sheffield Wednesday but could return on Tuesday.
2. Alex Pritchard - doubt (continued)
“Pritchard had a tight calf at half-time and we decided to take him off, without definitely saying it, I think this Friday might be a little bit too soon for him," said Tony Mowbray on February 8.
3. Hayden Carter - out
Absent through a hamstring injury. He's missed the last two games.
4. John Ruddy - out
He was Birmingham's first choice recently but has been out of action with a calf injury. Blues tried signing a keeper on Deadline Day but no one arrived.