Birmingham City are back in Sky Bet Championship action on Saturday afternoon as they travel northeast to take on Sunderland. Blues hit the 50-point mark last time out with a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke City but they’ll be keen to push on with a more entertaining display this weekend.
Currently nine points clear of the drop, Blues can go 12 clear of the relegation zone with four games to go if they beat The Black Cats and other results go their way. This would mean only four consecutive defeats and a huge swing in goal difference could send Birmingham down - and that looks very unlikely.
Fans were lifted by the news of a potential takeover of the club this week, as Birmingham Sports Holdings announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that two letters of intent to buy had been filed. Now, a few days on, it appears it could be Often Partisan Ltd attempting the purchase, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Regardless, supporters are in good spirits ahead of this weekend’s clash and their smiles could be widened further with a positive showing. In order to give Blues the best chance of doing so, we think Eustace will make a couple of subtle changes to his midfield and attacking options. With that in mind, here is our predicted starting XI.
1. Birmingham City predicted starting XI vs Sunderland
Here are the 11 players we think John Eustace will go with against the Black Cats. | Getty Images
2. GK: John Ruddy
Three clean sheets in his last four and showing plenty of solidity between the sticks. Isn’t threatened at all for his starting spot. | Getty Images
3. RB: Maxime Colin
Has been near-enough everpresent throughout the second half of the season and deserves to keep his place. | Getty Images
4. CB: Marc Roberts
Was the best Blues player last weekend as he seems to win near-enough every header available to him. He stays in the side. | Getty Images