Birmingham City predicted XI v Stoke: deadline day signing makes debut

Patrick Roberts could be in line to make his Birmingham City debut away at Stoke City. | Getty Images

placeholder image — Patrick Roberts could be in line to make his Birmingham City debut away at Stoke City. | Getty Images

Predicting Chris Davies’ Birmingham City lineup to face Stoke City away in the Championship.

Birmingham City return from the international break with a short away trip to Stoke City in the Championship.

Blues will be eager to bounce back this Saturday following a disappointing 2-0 defeat away at Leicester City before the interval. Chris Davies’ side were sloppy defensively and lacked creativity at the King Power Stadium last time out, so supporters will be expecting an improvement.

The deadline day arrival of Patrick Roberts on loan from Sunderland could help Blues in that department – and as could Jay Stansfield’s likely return from injury. Davies must decide whether Roberts has settled in quickly enough to start and if Stansfield is ready to feature from the beginning.

Birmingham City predicted lineup vs Stoke

Without further ado, here’s the Blues starting XI we reckon Davies will name at the bet365 Stadium.

GK: Ryan Allsop: Last season’s League One Golden Glove winner with 21 clean sheets in 37 games, Allsop has remained as Blues’ first-choice goalkeeper. Brighton loanee James Beadle is waiting in the wings, though, and offers strong competition.

RB - Bright Osayi-Samuel: It’s a tough choice between Osayi-Samuel and Laird, but the former probably just about makes it in. Laird really struggled away at Leicester last time out.

CB - Christoph Klarer: The new captain is pivotal to this squad and he can expect to start every single Championship fixture if he remains fit. There aren’t many in the division better in the air than Klarer.

CB - Phil Neumann: Signed on a free from Hannover, Neumann has started alongside Klarer from the off. Early signs suggest this could be a terrific partnership, though the jury is still out.

LB - Alex Cochrane: Blues missed Cochrane’s defensive ability one on one at the King Power, so it makes sense for him to return to the XI. Albeit not as physical as Laird, Cochrane’s positioning is better.

CM - Tomoki Iwata: Undoubtedly one of Birmingham’s best players, Iwata has continued as being one of the first names on the team sheet.

CM - Paik Seung-ho: Deciding who partners Iwata each week has been difficult for Davies, but Paik has been ahead of Tommy Doyle and Marc Leonard so far.

RW - Patrick Roberts: An exciting addition from Sunderland, Roberts is exactly the direct right winger Blues have been calling out for. There should be a big increase in chances created from wide with Roberts in the team.

CAM - Marvin Ducksch: With Stansfield touch and go to start, Ducksch could head into the number 10 role. Doyle is another option but Davies prefers to have at least one tall and physical attacker; Ducksch can be exactly that.

LW - Demarai Gray: Capable of playing on either flank, Gray could move to the left to facilitate Roberts’ arrival. The winger suffered a shoulder injury against Leicester but Davies has confirmed he’s fine to play this weekend.

ST - Kyogo Furuhashi: New signing Kyogo has shown signs of real promise up top but is yet to properly hit the ground running. A goal against Stoke would do his confidence the world of good.