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.
5. LB: Lee Buchanan
Buchanan had an uncharacteristically poor game at West Brom but, just like Laird, should bounce back with an improved display. | Getty Images
6. CM: Ivan Sunjic
Sunjic probably isn’t a long-term solution but Mowbray likes his determination to claim back possession as the ball-winner. | Getty Images
7. CM: Juninho Bacuna
Bacuna was on the bench for last Saturday’s defeat but is likely to be recalled to the XI following an under par debut from Andre Dozzell. | Getty Images
8. CAM: Jordan James
James was another who didn’t make the XI last weekend but Alex Pritchard’s calf tightness could pave the way. | Getty Images