Birmingham City travel to Pride Park to face Derby County in the Championship on Saturday, seeking a result to move up from 15th place. The Blues have taken seven points from their opening six matches, a record that includes a heavy defeat to Brentford but also resilient draws against Wolves and Southampton.
Recent form and context
Derby sit 22nd in the table and are looking for their first home win of the season, having lost their last match at Pride Park 1-0 to West Brom. Birmingham's last outing was a 2-1 defeat at Norwich, where Cristian Vicente scored a second-half consolation goal assisted by Liam Millar. That result continued a mixed run of form for the Blues, who have won one, drawn two and lost two of their last five.
Team news and selection
Manager Anthony Priske is expected to assess his squad after the midweek trip to Carrow Road. The only confirmed absentee is Jhon Solís, who remains sidelined. In the last match, Priske deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with Josh Beadle in goal, a back four of Bright Osayi-Samuel, Pontus Neumann, Christoph Klarer and Kristian Lund, and Tomoki Iwata alongside Paik Seung-Ho in midfield. Jay Stansfield, Liam Millar and Cristian Vicente supported lone striker Andreas Priske.
Derby's last line-up saw a 4-2-3-1 shape with Josef Widell Zetterstrom protected by defenders Dion Sanderson, Stefan Langas, Eiran Cashin and Corey Taylor. The midfield pair was Alex Mowatt and David Ozoh, with Ryan Hedges, Bobby Clark and Mohammed Fuseini behind striker Sammie Szmodics.
The challenge ahead
This fixture represents a chance for Birmingham to build momentum ahead of a busy period. The Blues will be keen to avenge a 1-0 defeat in the last meeting between the sides back in March. Anthony Priske's men kick off at Pride Park at 11:30 UTC on Saturday.
