Birmingham are back in action this midweek as they make the short trip to New Meadow to face Shrewsbury in the EFL Trophy group stage.
With an incredible 3,159 Bluenoses expected to support them, Chris Davies’ team will be keen to bounce back from Saturday’s shocking 1-0 loss away at Charlton Athletic.
Blues had an uncommonly bad day at The Valley, bringing an end to their terrific eight-game unbeaten streak in the English third division. Birmingham failed to register a single shot on goal in that game, so if they are to win against Shrewsbury, they will need to make significant progress.
Bottom of Group I following the 1-1 draw and subsequent penalty shootout defeat against Walsall in September, Blues need a win to give themselves a realistic chance of progressing in this competition.
Because so many players are heading out on international service, Davies is expected to field as strong of a lineup as possible, albeit there will be a lot of rotation. There are concerns concerning Krystian Bielik, too, as the skipper was taken off midway through the loss at Charlton.
Here is the starting lineup that we believe Davies will select to take on the Shrews, with five changes from the previous game.
Birmingham predicted lineup vs Shrewsbury
GK: Ryan Allsop
The boyhood Bluenose should start this one as Bailey Peacock-Farrell is out on international duty.
RB: Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Gardner-Hickman is likely to continue his stint at right-back as Alfons Sampsted received a call-up from Iceland and Ethan Laird still isn’t available.
CB: Christoph Klarer
Klarer is proving to be an excellent signing at the centre of defence. The Austrian is one of the most physical defenders in League One.
CB: Ben Davies
The manager’s namesake played a half against Charlton when Krystian Bielik was forced off. Davies can expect another run-out here.
LB: Alex Cochrane
Cochrane has played a lot of football at the start of this season but there’s been very little choice with Lee Buchanan sidelined for a lengthy period of time.
CM: Tomoki Iwata
Not selected for international duty, Iwata is available and should offer some stability at the base of midfield.
CM: Marc Leonard
Leonard’s been resorted to the bench for several weeks but Paik Seung-ho jetting off for South Korea’s fixtures opens up an opportunity.
CAM: Scott Wright
The former Rangers man has been effective as an option off the bench but could get prolonged minutes here with several other attacking midfielders away.
RW: Ayumu Yokoyama
The 21-year-old has only played a handful of times but that could change in the cup competitions. Yokoyama’s dribbling can be electric when he gets going.
LW: Emil Hansson
Hansson will probably get the nod ahead of Keshi Anderson, simply for rotation reasons. The Swede could do with a goal to properly get going.
ST: Alfie May
Top scorer May is the obvious choice up front as Lyndon Dykes and Jay Stansfield are with Scotland and Engalnd Under-21s respectively.
