£12m winger benched as Eustace makes Ethan Laird call - Birmingham City predicted XI v Preston North End - gallery
Here’s how we think Birmingham City will line up against Preston North End in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday.
Birmingham City will be eager to respond quickly to Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Watford as they take on EFL Championship leaders Preston North End on Tuesday evening.
The only side to remain unbeaten in the English second tier after six games of the 2023/24 season, Preston are in remarkable form but Blues too have been a surprise package.
Birmingham suffered their first loss of the campaign at the weekend and even then it was still 0-0 until the 88th-minute sending-off for Lee Buchanan at Vicarage Road.
John Eustace’s side will still no doubt be full of confidence and the North End even more so. This has the potential to be one of the matches of the season so far.
Here are the 11 players we think Blues will go with at Deepdale Stadium, as well as brief explanations for why they are expected to play against Ryan Lowe’s men.
1. GK: John Ruddy
Continues to be Blues’ number one choice between the sticks.
2. RB: Cody Drameh
Had a decent game despite defeat at Watford and Ethan Laird is still a doubt.
3. CB: Kevin Long
Putting in consistent performances every week with aerial duel wins aplenty.
4. CB: Dion Sanderson
Just keeps on improving ever since gaining the captain’s armband.