Birmingham City predicted XI vs Bristol City: two changes made as Davies makes big Kyogo decision
The predicted line-up for Birmingham City’s trip to Bristol City
Birmingham City are hoping to build on their victory against Preston North End on Tuesday. They travel to fourth placed Bristol City with the intention of trying to end the home side’s two-match winning streak.
Despite their well-documented struggles in the Championship over the past decade, Birmingham have had plenty of happy memories from trips to the South West of England in recent years - winning five of their last six matches, including a 2-0 success in August 2023.
However, this is currently looking like a much stronger Robins team than what’s been around in recent years. They finished sixth last term to qualify for the play-offs and have started the season excellently under new boss Gerhard Struber.
Birmingham have a squad stacked with quality that’s still gelling together and finding form after an action-packed summer window. But Chris Davies knows that his team can’t afford dither in terms of form, with the ambitious ownership group reportedly outlining that the objective is automatic promotion this term.
Ahead of a blockbuster clash between two clubs with ambitions of finishing in the upper echelons of the final league table, we take a look at how Birmingham are likely to line-up against promotion-chasing Bristol City.
Birmingham City predicted line-up: goalkeeper and defence
GK:James Beadle: England Under-21 prospect James Beadle has recently usurped Ryan Allsop in the pecking order. He kept a clean sheet last time out against Preston which should do his confidence the world of good.
RB: Tomoki Iwata: Blues look a better team when Tomoki Iwata is playing in central midfield. However, with Bright Osayi-Samuel being suspended it’s expected the Japanese star will have to do a job at right-back.
CB: Phil Neumann: Summer signing Phil Neumann returned to the team by scoring the winner and helping his team to a clean sheet at Deepdale. That should be enough to ensure he starts again.
CB: Christoph Klarer: Comfortably Birmingham’s best defender in League One last season, Christoph Klarer remains an everpresent in the backline under Chris Davies.
LB: Alex Cochrane: Scottish defender Alex Cochrane remains the first choice left-back and has so far been steady since making the jump up to the Championship.
Birmingham City predicted line-up: midfield and attack
CM: Paik Seung-ho: South Korean footballer Paik Seung-ho is yet to miss a match this season and is a vital part of the engine room in the middle of the park.
CM: Tommy Doyle: Wolves loanee Tommy Doyle earned a start against Preston and helped his team to a victory. He’ll be targeting a real run in the team now as he looks to prove his qualities in the Championship.
CAM: Kyōgo Furuhashi: Birmingham need much more from marquee signing Kyogo Furuhashi. He’s yet to hit the ground running but could change that against Bristol City this weekend.
RM: Lewis Koumas: Patrick Roberts’ is a doubt for the match against Bristol City. This opens the door to Liverpool loanee Lewis Koumas to show what he’s capable of as he looks to register a first season goal contribution.
LM: Demari Gray: Despite being left out of the XI on Tuesday, Demari Gray is expected to return to the starting line-up ahead of Keshi Anderson due to his experience at playing at a high level. He’s not yet hit the ground running for Blues and fans will be demanding a better display.
ST: Jay Stansfied: He’s adapted well to life in the Championship and currently appears to be the team’s most genuine goal threat. He’ll lead the line against Bristol City but will need support from those around him while being marked tightly by three centre-backs in Gerhard Struber’s favoured 3-at-the-back system.