Midlands | Birmingham City looking to get more consistent

Birmingham City v Sheffield Wednesday preview

Birmingham will be looking to bounce back from the weekend's defeat and start their journey to becoming more consistent in the Championship.

Author | Peter Grainger

Stadium | St. Andrew's

Birmingham City v Swansea City

A closer look at that weekend defeat at Coventry

It was a difficult afternoon for Chris Davies' side, who fell behind and lost a player in the first half. Brandon Thomas-Asante gave the hosts the lead before Jack Robinson was sent off for two yellow card offences, leaving the Blues with ten men.

Early in the second half, Bright Osayi-Samuel scored an own goal, making life even harder for the visitors, and Victor Torp added a third late in the game.

Team news for the home side 

Birmingham will be without defender Jack Robinson this week after his red card against Coventry, while left-back Lee Buchanan is sidelined with a knee injury. Eiran Cashin is likely to partner Christoph Klarer at centre-half, with Bright Osayi-Samuel and Alex Cochrane potential starters at full-back if Ethan Laird is unavailable.

The Blues have further absences in attack, as wingers Keshi Anderson and Scott Wright are not yet ready, and attacking midfielder Willum Thor Willumsson is sidelined with a muscle problem. Davies may therefore field a trio of Demarai Gray, Kyogo Furuhashi if Jay Stansfield is unavailable, and Lewis Koumas behind striker Lyndon Dykes.

The Sheffield Wednesday perspective

Sheffield Wednesday v QPR

Following a turbulent summer at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday are facing challenges both on and off the pitch. Amid ongoing protests against owner Dejphon Chansiri, the Owls showed resilience to secure their first league win of the season at Portsmouth and then scored their first home goal of the campaign in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers.

Although Wednesday have yet to win at Hillsborough since April, head coach Henrik Pedersen praised his side’s mentality after the weekend’s result.

In the build-up to the match, young defender Ernie Weaver will be assessed after limping off on Saturday with a foot injury during the draw with QPR. Nathaniel Chalobah is nearing a return but is not expected to be back until after the next international break.