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.
5. CB: Kevin Long
No need to change what’s working defensively, even with Harlee Dean knocking on the door. The game comes too soon for DIon Sanderson. | Getty Images
6. LB: Auston Trusty
Played as a left-back in the last few fixtures and has done well. His versatility has been key to Birmingham defensively this campaign. | Getty Images
7. CM: Krystian Bielik
Solid as ever last week and is key to any clean sheets that Birmingham keep. With plenty of shutouts recently, there’s no reason to drop the Polish international. | Getty Images
8. CM: Hannibal Mejbri
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Hannibal in the lineup, but after such a poor attacking display vs Stoke, something needs to be done. The Tunisian has ooked good in spells this season. | Getty Images