The three Birmingham City stars also in danger of suspension as Bright Osayi-Samuel hit with ban
Birmingham City travel to high-flying Bristol City at the weekend but won’t be able to select Bright Osayi-Samue due to suspension
On Tuesday night, Birmingham City ended their four-match run without a win by becoming the first team to beat Preston North End at Deepdale this season.
German defender Phil Neumann’s first goal for Blues decided the contest in the first half - much to the frustration of opposing manager Paul Heckingbottom, who slammed the referee for allowing the goal to stand while also criticising the official’s failure to award his side a penalty in stoppage time.
Next up for Blues is a trip to face in-form Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The Robins finished in the play-offs last season and have shown similar prowess this term under new manager Gerhard Struber after picking up 19 points from their opening 11 games.
The game promises to be a challenging test for Chris Davies’ side, and it’s a real opportunity to gauge just how Birmingham, who have ambitions to achieve promotion, cope against one of the strongest teams in the division on current form.
Davies will be without Bright Osayi-Samuel, who serves a one-match suspension after picking up five bookings, but who else finds themselves at risk of a ban?
The three Birmingham City players at risk of suspension
The likes of Jay Stansfield, Seung-Ho Paik and Tomoki Iwata are all at risk of picking up a one-match suspension in the coming weeks.
Championship rules state that any player that picks up five or yellow cards before matchday 19 serves a one-match suspension. This number is then increased to a two-match ban if 10 yellow cards are accumulated before matchday 32. A three-match-ban is then given to any player that accumulates 15 yellow cards before the final day of the season.
As it stands, Stansfield, Paik and Iwata have all picked up three yellow cards, leaving them at risk of a potential suspension in their upcoming fixtures. Stansfield was booked against Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City. He picked up 10 yellow cards over the course of last season in League One.
Paik was booked on the opener against Ipswich, against Swansea and in the final moments of Tuesday’s win over Preston. This already marks a huge shift from last season when he was cautioned just once against Reading in February.
Iwata was also booked against Preston on Tuesday. His previous cautions came against Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers. He was cautioned seven times in League One during last term’s title-winning campaign.
Who is likely to replace Bright Osayi-Samuel in Birmingham City’s lineup?
Bright Osayi-Samuel returned to the line-up to help his side pick up a clean sheet and a victory against Preston but is now out of the game against Bristol City.
During his absence, Birmingham often used Tomoki Iwata as a makeshift right-back despite his preferred position being central midfield. Other options for Blues include loanee Eiran Cashin, who joined from Brighton. He mainly plays centre-back but could potentially do a job in that area of the pitch.
Ethan Laird, who would have been a natural option in that role, remains out with a hamstring problem. He chipped in with eight goal contributions from defence last term and enjoyed a fine start to this campaign before his recent setback.