Birmingham City's new Wayne Rooney era begins on Saturday when he takes charge of his first match against Middlesbrough.
The 37-year-old has been working with his squad for little over a week now, and has got to know the players a little bit better. Several Blues men headed out to represent their country like Jordan James, Neil Etheridge, and in the latters case they will have travelled to different continents.
Rooney's first game in charge is against a familiar face from his Manchester United and England days, Michael Carrick. In Rooney's playing career, the player he played the most alongside was Carrick, with the two playing in 366-games together during a trophy-laden pell at Old Trafford.
Carrick has been in charge of Boro since replacing Chris Wilder, and took his side from relegation candidates to play-off semi-finalists, but it's been a slow start to the 2023/24 campaign for them, however they're in good form, and inflicted a 4-0 win over their North East rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light before the international break.
Birmingham on paper should be in good spirits too after beating Huddersfield Town and West Brom in a double game week before the international break. Blues are sixth in the current standings, and Boro are 16th with only four points separating the two sides which highlights the closeness of the division at the quarter-point of the season.
Below is the latest team news of both Birmingham City and Middlesbrough, ahead of their EFL Championship clash at the Riverside Stadium:
13. Keshi Anderson - out
Anderson picked up a hamstring injury on September 22 in the draw with QPR. The boss who signed him John Eustace said he’d be out for between ‘six and eight weeks’. Potential return date: 11th November: Sunderland (A) or 25th November: Sheffield Wednesday (H) | Getty Images Photo: Cameron Smith/Getty Images)
14. Darragh Lenihan - doubtful
Missed the win against Sunderland having suffered a bout of illness. He had a couple of niggling injuries, and so it remains to be seen whether he is available. | Getty Images Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images