Birmingham City vs West Brom team news: Starting lineups confirmed for Friday night Championship clash
Team news live from St Andrew’s for Friday night’s Championship clash, Birmingham City vs West Brom.
Birmingham City vs Huddersfield Town team news
John Eustace keeps the same lineup from Tuesday night’s 4-1 victory over Huddersfield Town. Cody
Dion Sanderson and Kevin Long are the center back pairing with Drameh at right defender, and Emmanuel Longelo is still filling in for Lee Buchanan as left defender.
The two holding midfielders are Krystian Bielik and Ivan Sunjic, and the latter’s excellent through ball let Siriki Dembele score the game’s first goal.
Tuesday’s game-winning player Dembele is well enough to make his second straight start as he fully recovers from the hamstring injury he sustained in August against Bristol City.
Koji Miyoshi, who plays in the number ten position, will look to repeat his midweek impact after scoring. On the right side of midfield, Juninho Bacuna continues to play at an advanced position.
Despite not scoring against Norwich City, Jay Stansfield put on a strong performance, earning the right to lead the line.
As the for the substitutes, it’s the same bench and if Oliver Burke is to affect the game against his former club, he’ll have to do it as a substitute. Burke was at West Brom from 2017 to 2020 after joining from RB Leipzig for a reported £15m, but is now in Blues ranks.
Blues starting XI: John Ruddy; Cody Drameh, Dion Sanderson, Kevin Long, Emmanuel Longelo; Krystian Bielik, Ivan Sunjic; Juninho Bacuna, Koji Miyoshi, Siriki Dembele; Jay Stansfield.
Blues subs: Neil Etheridge, Marc Roberts, Emanuel Aiwu, Gary Gardner, Jordan James, Brandon Khela, Oliver Burke, Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz.
West Brom team news
Carlos Corberan makes one change as Grady Diangana comes in for Brandon Thomas-Asante. Diangana started against Preston and then BTA came in on Tuesday, but now Grady gets the nod for the starting position.
Despite the fact that Semi Ajayi is once again available, Corberan has decided to start Kyle Bartley, Erik Pieters, and Cedric Kipre in the back three.
The two wingbacks are Darnell Furlong and Matt Phillips, and Okay Yokuslu and Alex Mowatt, who both return to the starting lineup, provide cover in the middle of the field. With Jed Wallace heading the line, the aforementioned Diangana is joined by John Swift, who scored the game-winning goal against Sheffield Wednesday the previous week.
Starting lineup for the Baggies: Alex Palmer; Kyle Bartley; Erik Pieters; Cedric Kipre; Matt Phillips; Darnell Furlong; Okay Yokuslu; Alex Mowatt; Grady Diangana; and Jed Wallace.
Baggies substitutions: Tom Fellows, Jayson Molumby, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Caleb Taylor, Semi Ajayi, Pipa, Conor Townsend