Birmingham City travel to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday in excellent form, having won their last three Championship matches. The Blues sit fourth in the table with 20 points from 11 games, just three points behind leaders Swansea City. Their record of five wins, five draws, and one loss this season has them firmly in the promotion picture.
They have had virtually a full-strength squad since the international break, with only Kristoffer Lund and Paik Seung-ho missing the last few games. Will Fish has recently returned to the bench and is likely to make his first start of the season this weekend. Liam Millar, the team's top scorer with four goals in seven appearances, will lead the line after his brace in the 3-0 win over QPR last Saturday, where he was assisted twice by Tomoki Iwata before Demarai Gray added a late third.
Cardiff's defensive crisis
Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy has a crisis in central defence ahead of the match. Gabriel Osho was sent off against Middlesbrough and will be suspended unless the club successfully appeals. Dylan Lawlor suffered a hamstring injury in the victory over Watford and is also expected to be out. Former Blues captain Krystian Bielik replaced Lawlor in Cardiff's defence last time out, while Callum Chambers has not featured this season due to injury.
Barry-Murphy expressed doubt about the appeal process. "I'm not sure. History suggests that our appeals haven't been very successful in my time here," he said.
Team news and selections
Birmingham's last starting lineup against QPR featured Beadle in goal, with a back four of Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer and Alex Cochrane. Tomoki Iwata and Solis anchored midfield, supporting Patrick Roberts, Jay Stansfield, Liam Millar and August Priske in attack. The team has scored 20 goals this season while conceding only 11, a goal difference of plus nine. This defensive solidity has been a feature of their recent run of four wins and a draw from their last five matches, which includes a 4-0 victory over Preston where Millar, August Priske with a double, and Demarai Gray were on the scoresheet, and a 1-0 win at West Brom.
Cardiff's last XI against Middlesbrough was a 4-1-4-1 formation with Trott in goal, a defence of R. Kpakio, Krystian Bielik, Gabriel Osho and Bagan, and a midfield anchored by Robertson. Tanner, Colwill, Cian Ashford and Willock supported striker Moylan.
The Blues' recent form reads four wins and a draw from their last five matches. They will look to extend their three-game winning run when they visit Cardiff City on Saturday 24 October.
