Birmingham City return to EFL Championship action as they welcome strugglers Sheffield Wednesday to St Andrew's.
The international break is over, and with four senior Blues players away on international duty, they all seem to have come through unscathed. Jordan James had to settle for the EURO 2024 play-offs with Wales whilst on-loan Fulham star Jay Stansfield made his debut for England's under-21's team.
Both midfielder Juninho Bacuna and Neil Etheridge travelled outside the continent to to the Caribbean and Southeast Asia respectively, and will have done a lot of travelling upon their return to the Midlands.
Wayne Rooney is still without a win since succeeding John Eustace, and with all due respect, he might not get a better opportunity than against the side rock bottom of the league. Wednesday are nine points adrift of safety and have won just one league game this season, and that came against relegation rivals Rotherham United. As a result of Birmingham's slump under Rooney, they've gone from sixth place to 18th, however a win this weekend coupled with results going in their favour could get them into the top-half of the table at least.
Birmingham have a midweek match against Blackburn Rovers to think about next Wednesday (November 29) and so Rooney's team selection could be interesting. The Manchester United legend has had the opportunity to work closely with some of his players without the interruption of the match, and there's a hope now that he can turn things around. Fotrtunately the injury situation is getting better too, and he could soon be able to name players in his match-day squad that he wasn't able to call upon before.
Flick through to see all the players that are either questionable for the weekend or ruled out entirely.
1. Lee Buchanan - doubtful
Lee Buchanan has been out of action for the last seven weeks. He rolled his ankle in a training session and before then had been ever present in the league games he was available for. Photo: Getty
2. Lee Buchanan - doubtful
"I’m hoping that Lee will be available for Sheffield Wednesday," said Wayne Rooney before the international break. Photo: Getty Images
3. Kevin Long - doubtful
Wayne Rooney said: "He hurt his calf and he hasn't trained for the last few days so he wasn't available." Photo: Getty Images
4. Kevin Long - doubtful
Didn't feature in the defeat to Sunderland before the international break. He picked up a knock in the build-up to the defeat to the Black Cats, and had been dropped for games against Southampton and Ipswich Town. Photo: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)