Sports Mole preview Saturday’s Championship clash between Birmingham City and Preston North End, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
City of Birmingham will look to build on the success of the FA Cup in the week they host North end of Preston at St Andrew’s in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues cruised to victory over League One side Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night to face Blackburn Rovers next week, while Preston will be aiming to respond after a heavy defeat at Norwich City last Saturday.
Match preview
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Birmingham headed to The New Lawn for their FA Cup third round tie with Forest Green after four consecutive defeats in the Championship, Jean Eustachethe worst race since he took the reins at the start of the season.
The Blues have looked tired and uncharacteristically disorganized since returning from the World Cup break, and that ominous theme continued into the first half in Gloucestershire as Forest Green deservedly led at halftime. time with a gentle tap of Ben Stevenson.
A triple substitution and the start of a defender at three ensued during the half-time break, which changed the course of the game, with goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz and Kevin Long secure the Blues’ passage to the fourth round – although Neil Etheridge had to be at his acrobatic best to avoid an unwanted replay.
The aim now will be to build on that success in the Championship, where Birmingham sit 18th, six points above the relegation zone and nine behind sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion.
Injuries have impacted the progress of the tight-knit Eustachian side – particularly in the defensive areas – with the 43-year-old keen to remind fans and players alike that they need to stick together during the inevitable tough times of the season. a 46-game league season.
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Preston also managed to secure their place in the FA Cup fourth round after beating Huddersfield Town 3-1 a fortnight ago, but the Lilywhites were unable to register three straight wins in all competitions as they were sacked 4-0 by Norwich last weekend.
Championship Legend Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell the two bagged accolades at Deepdale for David Wagnerfrom the side of Preston, unable to contain the Canaries in their heaviest defeat of the campaign to date.
The period at the start of the season when ryan loweNorth End’s men have been awfully hard to score against is a distant memory – Preston have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine games, a record which has made it difficult for North End to keep pace with the top six of the league.
Preston are currently 13th in the league table, four points behind West Brom in sixth, and given the form of the likes of Baggies and Michael CarrickMiddlesbrough, Lowe’s men need to string together a few wins to rekindle their playoff dreams.
The Lilywhites have been expert travelers so far this season – picking up 24 points in 13 outings – and should be confident heading into a field where they are unbeaten in their last three visits.
Birmingham City Championship Form:
Birmingham City form (all competitions):
Preston North End Championship Form:
Preston North End Form (all competitions):
Team News
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Birmingham City striker Reda Khadra will return to the matchday squad this Saturday after being ineligible to play in the FA Cup clash with Forest Green, meaning Eustache could give the German his first start for the club alongside Troy Deney.
Eustace gave an update on defenders’ injuries Mark Robert (hamstrings) and Harlee Dean (calf) after Tuesday’s cup win, with the Blues boss saying the two are still weeks away from action.
Midfielder Jobe Bellingham is expected to be sidelined for about a month due to a stomach injury, while his compatriot George room has been training on the grass this week as he recovers from a hamstring strain.
Nico Gordon appeared in a Birmingham matchday squad for the first time this campaign against Forest Green after a time out due to health, with the young defender looking to match Long, Dion Sanderson and auston faithful for a place in the Blues defensive line.
Preston have been boosted this week by the return of Sean Maguire to full training, with the striker fully fit to face Birmingham on Saturday afternoon according to manager Lowe.
Emil Riis Jakobsen set to be out long-term for the Lilywhites after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the Stoke City win, meaning Maguire and Ched Evans will have a bigger share of the goalscoring burden on them for the rest of the season.
Possible starting line-up from Birmingham City:
Red; Sanderson, Long, Faithful; Colin, Bielik, Hannibal, Chong, Graham; Khadra, Deney
Possible starting line-up from Preston North End:
Woodman; Diaby, Storey, Lindsay; Fernandez, Browne, Ledson, Johnson, Hughes; Delap, Parrott
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Preston North End
Birmingham needed that cup win over Forest Green to prevent utter panic from erupting among the supporters, but now they need to back that win up with a respectable performance and culminate in the Championship this weekend.
Preston will be desperate to put that heavy loss to Norwich behind them, and with key players returning to the fold for this game they should be good enough for a point at St Andrew’s.
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