Birmingham City 10 best performing players in the Championship after three wins in last six games

Birmingham City have begun the 2022-23 campaign in reasonable fashion, sitting 15th in the Championship on goal difference after their opening 13 games. John Eustace’s side have won four league matches so far, including their 3-0 victory against Bristol City on Saturday.

The 42-year-old made several changes to their squad during the summer transfer window, including the arrivals of John Ruddy and Tahith Chong on permanent deals, while seven players joined on season-long loans.

Despite their relatively low position in the table, Blues have been in impressive form as of late, winning three of their last six in the Championship, while drawing two and losing once. They have also conceded the joint-third lowest number of goals in the league - 12.

Eustace has opted to regularly play a 3-4-1-2 formation this campaign which has seen the likes of Ruddy, Auston Trusty, Dion Sanderson, Troy Deeney, Junior Bacuna and Scott Hogan feature in every league game so far.

The latter is the club’s highest scorer in the Championship, netting five times, including a hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in mid-September, but does he feature in the club’s 10 best performing players so far?

Well never fear, BirminghamWorld is here to tell you exactly which 10 Blues players have been their standout stars after their opening 13 league games, according to SofaScore…

10 - Maxime Colin - 6.95

The full-back has featured in all but one of Birmingham’s league games this season and scored his first goal of the campaign against Preston North End in Blues 1-0 win at Deepdale in September.

9 - Jordan Graham - 6.98

Didn’t feature against Bristol City but has been an important player for Birmingham this season, registering one assist in eight games. He has made 1.4 key passes so far, while averaging 0.5 shots on target.

8 - Emmanuel Longelo - 7.00

The West Ham United loanee has impressed in his three league appearances so far and has contributed to both defensive and attacking phases at left-wing-back. He is averaging 1.7 tackles and clearances per game.

7 - Harlee Dean - 7.00

Missed the start of the season due to injury and made his first start in the 3-0 win over the Robins on Saturday. The centre-back was solid at the back making six clearances and one tackle.

6 - John Ruddy - 7.04

The experienced goalkeeper has kept four clean sheets in Blues’ opening 13 league games, making 33 saves in total, including one of two penalties faced so far. His performances between the sticks have prevented Neil Etheridge from featuring at all so far.

5 - Dion Sanderson - 7.05

The centre-back on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers scored Birmingham’s third goal against Bristol on Saturday tapping in from the far post. He has an 80% pass accuracy over his 13 league appearances, while making on average 2.9 clearances per game.

4 - Tahith Chong - 7.07

The Dutch midfielder has started all six of his appearances so far this season, providing three assists. He has caused problems with his set piece delivery and is averaging 1.5 shots per game.

3 - Marc Roberts - 7.07

The centre-back hasn’t featured since the win over West Brom due to injury. He helped Blues keep two clean sheets in seven starts when fit and averaged 7.9 clearances per game, while 72 % of his aerial duels.

2 - Przemyslaw Placheta - 7.08

The Polish winger scored one goal in five appearances before sustaining an injury that hasn’t seen him feature since the 1-0 loss to Wigan Athletic in August. Until that point, he had registered 2.0 shots per game, while having a successful dribble rate of 81%.

1 - Auston Trusty - 7.19

The American has been a brilliant signing so far for Blues having joined on a season-long loan from Arsenal this summer. He scored twice against Bristol on the weekend, while helping the club keep four clean sheets in their opening 13 league games.