Birmingham City v Middlesbrough Championship injury news as eight ruled out

Birmingham City host in-form Middlesbrough at St Andrew's in a crucial Sky Bet Championship clash at St Andrew's on Tuesday (March 12) night.

This match is Blues' game in hand and they must turn that into points having slumped down the league table. Birmingham are without a win under the interim charge of Mark Venus and suffered a 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Millwall at the weekend. Middlesbrough meanwhile did Birmingham a slight favour by beating QPR 2-0 at Loftus Road to give them a faint chance of reaching the play-offs.

Birmingham are a point above the relegation zone but a victory would put them as high as 17th. If Middlesbrough were to win then they'd overtake Cardiff City in 10th and go to within five points of the play-off spots. Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off on Tuesday night.

Birmingham City team news

Ivan Sunjic and Jay Stansfield aren't injured but both players are in danger of missing the games against Watford and QPR. The pair need to avoid getting a yellow card on Tuesday evening, otherwise they'll be suspended for two games as a result of the EFL's disciplinary rules. Any player that receives 10 yellow cards up to the 37th game of the season will receive an automatic two-match suspension.

Dion Sanderson is serving the third and final of his three-game ban. He was dismissed against Southampton, and there was an appeal lodged by Blues but the EFL rejected it, which then added another game on to Sanderson's suspension.

Marc Roberts made a return at the weekend having been sidelined for the past few games with a calf injury. Krystian Bielik is out however after tearing a stomach muscle, which will rule him out until the international break.

Alfie Chang is Birmingham's long-term absentee having suffered a significant knee injury in August. He is working towards a return and signed a new contract which has given him added motivation.

Out: Alfie Chang, Dion Sanderson.

Middlesbrough team news

Manager Michael Carrick played down fears over a possible injury for Emmanuel Lathe Lath after he was withdrawn in the win against QPR. The striker could be seen holding his leg after leaving the field of play in the 78th minute, but that was just down to him feeling tired after playing in three consecutive matches after a spell out.

"He was just feeling the effects of the three games having not been back for very long," said Carrick to The Northern Echo. We had to manage him and be a little bit careful with him. You need the squad for that reason, and we’ve not always had the options this season.

Striker Josh Coburn is out until the international break for the visitors. A groin issue has flared up, and that has put him out of action since the start of February, causing him to miss seven games.

Midfielder Hayden Hackney has missed the last five games through injury. The 21-year-old will be out for a couple of weeks after suffering a knee injury against Preston North End.

Left-back Alex Bangura has been out since the start of January having suffered a hamstring injury which could be season ending. Dael Fry has been missing for six games, but it is hoped that he can return during the international break.

Centre-back Darragh Lenihan is out for the campaign having undergone surgery on his ankle. Right-back Tommy Smith like Lenihan is out for the campaign having ruptured his Achilles in the reverse fixture against Birmingham back in October.

Middlesbrough's injury situation is clearing up a slight bit however with Isaiah Jones having spent all of February out has been an unused substitute in the past two matches having recovered from a hamstring issue.

Out: Alex Bangura, Dael Fry, Darragh Lenihan, Hayden Hackney, Josh Coburn and Tommy Smith.