Birmingham City are in Championship action again at St Andrew's as they welcome Sunderland in the EFL Championship.
Tony Mowbray takes on his Black Cats successor as for the first time since his departure in December, he comes up against his former club. Mowbray was sacked after 15 months at the Stadium of Light and was replaced by former QPR and Rangers manager Michael Beale.
Birmingham and Sunderland did business last month too with Alex Pritchard joining Blues for an undisclosed fee. He had been offered a new contract by Sunderland but did not sign it, and ultimately moved to the Midlands. He's unlikely to play against a club that he called home for two and a half seasons.
The two clubs seemed to be in the same market for players, and before he arrived in England, South Korean international Paik Seung-ho had interest from Sunderland. Callum Styles who joined Sunderland on loan from Barnsley meanwhile was said to be on Birmingham's radar. Dion Sanderson once played for Sunderland too, and made 27 appearances for them in the 2020/21 season.
Birmingham's win in midweek helped create a bit more of a gap over the relegation zone and they are now six points clear of 22nd-placed QPR. Sunderland lost to Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night and have had one day less recovery than Birmingham. Eight places separate the two sides and there is a 12-point difference between Sunderland in 10th and Birmingham in 18th. A win for Birmingham could move them as high as 15th whilst Sunderland could move in to the play-off places if results go in their favour.
The omens aren't good for Birmingham as they've lost their last three games against them which is their worst run since September 1997. Sunderland aren't the best travellers to Birmingham though and have won just one of their last nine away league games against them but their last success was their most recent visit which was a 2-1 win.
Tony Mowbray was in the dugout for Sunderland the last time these two sides met and guided them to a 3-1 victory. Will he be able to outwit Mick Beale? Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of kick-off.
9. Callum Styles - doubt
Styles was linked with a move to Birmingham in January but they opted for other targets. He had his apendix removed in January and hasn't featured since his deadline day move. Photo: Ben Roberts Photo
10. Elliot Embleton - doubt
He was due to play for Sunderland's under-21s this week but it was called off. He rolled his ankle in training. Photo: Stu Forster
11. Patrick Roberts - out
Set to be sidelined for a number of weeks after being forced off with a hamstring issue. | Getty Images
12. Patrick Roberts - out (continued)
Michael Beale said on February 14: "It just made it into an even worse night. It’s his hamstring, and I’m told it looks as if its the same as he did earlier in the season. He missed four or five weeks earlier in the season, and he feels it’s the same. "It’s a really big shame because I thought he was bright when he came on. He came inside and the defender did fantastic to block it, and then he went outside on another one. We looked much stronger when he came on, so he’ll be a big loss." | Getty Images