Birmingham City prepare to host Preston North End at St Andrew's on Tuesday night aiming to build on their weekend victory. The Blues sit seventh in the Championship with 14 points from nine games and will be targeting a second consecutive win.
Chris Davies is expected to name an unchanged side from the one that secured a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion. That would see James Beadle in goal behind a back four of Bright Osayi-Samuel, Phil Neumann, Christoph Klarer and Alex Cochrane. Tomoki Iwata and Jhon Solís are set to anchor the midfield, with Carlos Vicente, Jay Stansfield and Liam Millar supporting striker August Priske.
Preston arrive under new manager Graham Alexander, who took charge at the end of September. His first game ended in a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall, extending a difficult start to the season for the Lilywhites. They have collected just four points from their opening eight league games. Alexander, a former Preston player with over 400 appearances for the club, has called for his team to re-focus for the trip to Birmingham.
Davies has urged his players to be patient against what he expects to be a resolute Preston side. He stressed the importance of finding the right solutions in attack while being alert to counter-attacks. The manager also called on the home support to create a vibrant atmosphere at St Andrew's to help the team.
With several players currently sidelined, including Paik Seung-Ho, the Blues will rely on their recent form which reads two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five outings. The next challenge in their fixtures list is this midweek clash, where three points could see them close the gap on the playoff places.
