Birmingham City are away from home for a fourth successive fixture as they take on Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday evening.
Blues come into this one with a point to prove following the narrow 1-0 defeat to local rivals West Bromwich Albion last weekend. There's been a clear improvement in performances under new manager Tony Mowbray but just the one league win since his arrival leaves Birmingham merely four points above the bottom three.
Sheffield Wednesday, who are eight points adrift from safety, are one of the teams in the relegation zone as it stands. The Owls got off to a superb start under Danny Röhl but the wheels have seemingly come off a little, with four defeats in the last five games across all competitions.
Blues will be aware that Hillsborough is a tough place to go, however, and anything can happen when a team is in as perilous of a position as Wednesday. The squad must remain focused on the task at hand as an excellent opportunity awaits to move up to seven points away from the drop.
Mowbray seemed happy with his team's performance last time out, so it's unlikely there will be too many changes. Alex Pritchard did come off as an injury doubt during that game, though, whereas one player will be hoping to swap the bench for the starting XI. With that in mind, here's our predicted lineup.
1. GK: Neil Etheridge
Etheridge started at The Hawthorns and he will play again with John Ruddy still out with a calf problem.
2. RB: Ethan Laird
Laird didn’t have his best game last time out but he’s so often been one of Blues’ best players. Cody Drameh, meanwhile, could feature off the bench.
3. CB: Krystian Bielik
Bielik appears to be trusted by Mowbray as a central defender. His lack of pace and agility is concerning but his passing out from the back is effective.
4. CB: Kevin Long
Long put in a terrific shift last weekend as he threw himself at everything, whether it be in the air or on the ground.