Chris Davies to make Ayumu Yokoyama call - Birmingham City predicted XI v Shrewsbury Town

Chris Davies has a number of calls to make when his Birmingham City side face Shrewsbury Town on Saturday - including whether to give a first start of the season to Ayumu Yokoyama.

Blues are back in League One action following the international break. Gareth Ainsworth has taken charge of Saturday’s hosts, and you’d expect him to name a side that will set up to frustrate Birmingham. The Shrews will likely look to challenge Birmingham on the counter attack and set pieces, but Birmingham can’t let them get in those positions, so this could be an attack minded side.

Here, we take a look at the Birmingham City starting XI that Davies could name for his side’s EFL League One clash against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday (12.30 pm kick-off). Would you like to see Davies name this team? Follow us on our social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, and let us know your thoughts there:

Birmingham City predicted XI v Shrewsbury Town

GK: Ryan Allsop

Bailey Peacock-Farrell returned from international duty having not made an appearance for Northern Ireland. Allsop currently is the number one but Peacock-Farrell will be waiting for his opportunity

RB: Ethan Laird

An injury to Alfons Sampsted means Laird has less competition for that starting right-back spot.

CB: Christoph Klarer

In Bielik's absence, Klarer was captain. The only league game he didn't start was Reading on the opening day.

CB: Krystian Bielik

Came back from injury just before the international break. His height will be important as Shrewsbury try and target Birmingham with their aerial threat.

LB: Alex Cochrane

Lee Buchanan still isn’t fit and so Cochrane will continue to hold down his spot in the side. Cochrane’s got a brilliant delivery on him and so it’ll be a difficult task to displace him.

CM: Paik Seung-ho

Played only nine minutes during the international break. He was an unused substitute against Palestine on Tuesday so he should be fresh.

CM: Tomoki Iwata

He's been solid since his arrival.

RW: Keshi Anderson

Things have gone pretty good for Anderson this season. He signed a new contract in October, and he played a part in goals against Fulham and mansfield Town in recent weeks.

CAM: Willum Willumsson

Four goals and four assists in the league shows that Willumsson is key to Birmingham's attacfk. He was limited to two substitute appearances with Iceland over the international break, so he'll have a point to prove.

LW: Ayumu Yokoyama

The 21-yar-old is yet to start a game this season but this is the right time to give him a chance. With no disrespect to Shrewsbury, Yokoyama facing the side bottom of the league is an opportunity for him to show he’s capable of starting. In the EFL Trophy he got two assists against Fulham, so let’s see what he’s made of.

ST: Jay Stansfield

Likely to lead the line for Birmingham. He’ll be key to unlocking the Shrewsbury defence.