Chris Davies has some big calls to make regarding Birmingham City’s line-up to play Stoke City this weekend
Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail
Tommy Doyle of Birmingham City
Chris Davies must decide whether to risk playing Birmingham City’s international contingent against Stoke City on Saturday.
The Blues boss has been without Bright Osayi-Samuel, Paik Seung-ho, Lewis Koumas, Willum Willumsson and Lyndon Dykes for the past two weeks – all apart from Dykes started Blues’ last Championship fixture at Leicester.
Will Davies keep faith with them or trust the players who have been on the training ground over the international break?
Koumas and Willumsson are quite easily replaceable but Osayi-Samuel and Paik have started every Championship game so far.
There is a strong argument that Blues now have strong enough alternatives to leave both Osayi-Samuel and Paik out. Ethan Laird could switch back to right-back, which would allow Alex Cochrane to retake his place at left-back.
And why sign Tommy Doyle if you aren’t willing to deploy him in situations like this? Doyle is a strong alternative to Paik, who only reported back at Blues’ base on Thursday.
Demarai Gray has been passed fit after a slight shoulder concern and Davies says Jay Stansfield is ‘close’ to returning.
If Stansfield is fit, now could be the time to take Kyogo Furuhashi out of the firing line. Kyogo has failed to convert some big chances in the Championship and struggled to impose himself at Leicester last time out.
Patrick Roberts has been signed to play on the right wing and there is no reason why he shouldn’t go straight into the starting line-up.
With Roberts, Gray and Stansfield in, that leaves one spot. The question is whether Marvin Ducksch is fit enough to start.
“He’s getting there with his real, true fitness,” says Davies. “He has turned up injured, he’s missed pre-season, so we are trying to get him up to speed as we go along which isn’t always easy.”
That doesn’t sound convincing. So, with that in mind, maybe Davies will revert to the Stansfield-Kyogo partnership that showed signs of flourishing at the start of the season.
It would be a risk to not play Ducksch or Willumsson as it would leave Blues without a third six-foot-plus player for defensive set pieces, but it’s one Davies might have to take due to the fitness and form, respectively, of the two aforementioned players.
How Blues could line up at Stoke
(4-2-3-1): Allsop; Laird, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Iwata, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Gray; Kyogo
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