Birmingham City take on Huddersfield Town in League One at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday night.
Birmingham are playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in almost 30 years this season, but they look to be in a strong position to make an immediate return to the Championship after a summer transfer window that saw them spend a reported total of around £24 million, including £15 million on the permanent signing of striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham.
The Blues have made an outstanding start to the season, and they secured their sixth consecutive league victory with a 3-2 home win over Peterborough United on Saturday.
Posh took a surprise lead after just four minutes when Ricky-Jade Jones capitalised on Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s hesitation on the ball, and they doubled their lead in the 16th minute through Emmanuel Fernandez.
Willum Thor Willumsson pulled one back for Birmingham in the 24th minute, and the hosts equalised shortly after the break when Stansfield’s shot deflected in off the unfortunate Oscar Wallin.
The Blues sealed all three points in the 66th minute when captain Krystian Bielik headed home from Tomaki Iwata’s cross, and the impressive comeback victory saw Chris Davies’ men go top of the table after Wrexham were held at Leyton Orient.
| League One table (as it stands 30th September) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Birmingham City | 7 | 8 | 19 |
| 2 | Wrexham | 8 | 8 | 17 |
| 3 | Lincoln City | 7 | 6 | 14 |
| 4 | Blackpool | 8 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | Mansfield Town | 7 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Barnsley | 8 | 2 | 14 |
| 7 | Wycombe Wanderers | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| 8 | Charlton Athletic | 8 | 1 | 13 |
Birmingham will be searching for their seventh straight win in midweek against a Huddersfield side that have lost their previous three league games, and six of their last seven matches in all competitions, with pressure starting to build on manager Michael Duff.
As the countdown to kick-off continues, we rounded up all the latest Blues injury news.
Birmingham City injury latest ahead of Huddersfield Town clash
Birmingham supporters will undoubtedly have been concerned when star midfielder Paik Seung-ho was forced off in the closing stages of the win over Peterborough on Saturday.
Paik had previously played every minute in the league this season prior to being replaced by Marc Leonard late on against Posh after sustaining a muscle issue, but Davies played down fears that he could be set for a spell on the sidelines, telling Birmingham Live: “I haven’t got the official report on that but it looks like it was just a bit of cramp.”
While Paik should be fit for the visit of Huddersfield, one player who will not be available is defender Lee Buchanan, who is yet to feature this season due to a calf injury, and Davies revealed last week that he had suffered a setback in his recovery.
“Lee was training with us but he’s just had another niggle, a little bit of a niggle again, so he’s back in the treatment room again,” Davies said.
“Hopefully it won’t be too long.
“I don’t know the full extent of it. We are waiting for more tests and details. It’s not a re-injury as such, but he’s felt his calf again.”
The game is also likely to come too soon for defenders Ethan Laird and Dion Sanderson and midfielder Luke Harris, with Davies admitting that the trio are still some way off full fitness, and while midfielder Alfie Chang is back in light training after over a year out with a serious knee injury, he has been left out of the club’s 25-man squad and is unavailable for selection until at least January.
Rigg is now attracting interest from ambitious League One outfit Birmingham, who could make a January offer for him.
Davies also has a decision to make on whether to stick with goalkeeper Peacock-Farrell after his latest mistake against Peterborough or replace him with fellow summer signing Ryan Allsop, but the manager has offered his support to the Northern Ireland international, suggesting he may retain his place.
“Other players around him have to be quicker to support him with their positions. This is my responsibility, Bailey is doing what I am asking the team to do, which is, when possible, build up from the back. He’s following instructions in that sense,” Davies told Birmingham Live.
“Quicker positions and quicker passing and we would have been away. These things happen, it happens at every level and it will continue to happen. The most important thing is the reaction and I thought he reacted well to it. Fair play.”
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