Birmingham City will aim to remain unbeaten in the league for five games this weekend when they play Oxford United.
Birmingham City have been very busy in January, making five solid additions to the squad. Their latest signing may be their most exciting yet at the time they signed Carlos Vicente from Alaves for a reported £7 million.
BCFC have hit a bit of form recently and are four games unbeaten in the league with two important wins against Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday. The win over the latter was a first away win in nine, and we hope this is the triumph that turns around the Blues’ fortunes on the road.
Oxford United have had a good start under the club administrator Matt Bloomfield. The U’s have not lost in the league under their new boss, winning their last match 2-1 against Leicester City.
Oxford United’s home record this season
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Team news from Birmingham City
There was very little to say from BCFC boss Davies in his story press conference before the match.
The Welshman spoke about the return of Bright Osayi-Samuel and confirmed that he is back in contention after his AFCON campaign with Nigeria. His return could be crucial for Birmingham City, who have recently only had Tomoki Iwata as a right-back.
Osayi-Samuel also impressed for Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations, so Blues will be hopeful he can carry that form into his club football.
However, there are a few players who are still out for the Blues. Jack Robinson, Alex Cochrane, Ethan Laird, Demarai Gray and Lee Buchanan are all still dealing with injuries.
When asked about the likelihood of any of these players returning, Davies replied: “The ones that are out still have a few weeks to go.”
Predicted XI
(4-2-3-1)
Beadle; Iwata, Klarer, Neumann, Wagner; Solis, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Osman; Duksh
Birmingham City’s defense has few options at the moment.
Iwata and Osayi-Samuel are the options at right-back, but Davies is unlikely to substitute for the Japanese favorite given his key role in his line-up. Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann are the only centre-backs available, so start again. Winter signing Kai Wagner is the only natural left back available and will therefore continue his good start.
There could be a different view of midfield for Blues against the U’s. Davies will look to make his team solid away from home, so Jhon Solis will be ideal if he wants to win the ball in midfield. He will give Tommy Doyle the chance to step up, leaving the loanee Paik Seung-ho, who has struggled to make an impact in games away from home this season.
There are many options for Davies in attack. With the additions of August Priske, Ibrahim Osman and Vicente, the boss has to make some tough choices in attack.
With Vicente only signing this week, it is likely that Patrick Roberts will get the nod to play on the right. Priske looked sharp in his cameo against Stoke, but it won’t be enough for Davies to split Marvin Ducksch and Jay Stansfield up top.
Osman is the new signing likely to start in attack now that Lewis Koumas is gone and Gray is still injured.
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