Blues are at home again over the festive period as they welcome Blackpool to St Andrew’s.
Birmingham City will welcome Blackpool at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in their last EFL League One home game of the year.
Blues defeated Burton Albion 2-0 on Boxing Day, with Jay Stansfield netting a penalty in the first half and Max Crocombe conceding an own goal from Willum Willumsson’s cross. Birmingham remained top of the table after the win, but Wycombe Wanderers and Wrexham are closing in, with the latter winning late against their opponents on Sunday.
Blackpool took the lead against Wrexham thanks to an Ashley Fletcher goal, but Paul Mullin equalised before Steven Fletcher converted a penalty two minutes later. Here’s the most recent injury and team news
Birmingham City team news
Christoph Klarer is back in to contention after serving a one game suspension. He was booked during the 1-0 win against Crawley Town in what was the final match before the 19-game amnesty came in, but failed to avoid being carded.
Keshi Anderson was replaced at half-time after complaining of fatigue to Chris Davies according to BirminghamLive. Anderson was withdrawn as a precautionary measure according to the manager. The 29-year-old played for Blackpool for three seasons before making the move to Birmingham in the summer of 2023.
Lee Buchanan wasn’t in the match day squad but that was to avoid overloading him after starting the last three matches. Alex Cochrane came back in to the side after overcoming a laceration on his foot
Alfons Sampsted and Scott Wright are unlikely to play, but could come in to contention either against Stockport County or Wigan Athletic. Sampsted has an ankle injury which he picked up during the November international break whilst Wright has been out since mid-October. Both players are in training and will try and build their fitness up.
Out: Alfons Sampsted and Scott Wright. Doubt: Keshi Anderson
Blackpool team news
Sonny Carey was named among the substitutes for Blackpool on Sunday. The 23-year-old had missed the last six league games with a muscle injury, but was able to play 11 minutes against Wrexham.
Blackpool could have CJ Hamilton and Elkan Baggott to call upon in the New Year, but it’s unlikely they’ll get a chance before 2024 is out. Hamilton has done some full training now and it’s a case of Blackpool just being careful with him to avoid a recurrence of the injury which ruled him out for weeks.
Two separate injuries have had Bagott sidelined for several weeks at a time, and he’s yet to play a league game under Steve Bruce. He first had an ankle problem, but then a thigh injury in November has put him out for over a month.
Josh Onomah is out for a couple of weeks with an abductor muscle issue. He suffered the injury against Reading and had to be replaced at half-time, forcing him to miss the last couple of games. His injury comes at the worst possible time as his short-term contract is due to expire.
Andy Lyons and Jake Beesley are the other Blackpool players that are contending with injuries. Lyons suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) in February whilst Beesley has a medial ligament problem, however the pair are making progress and should return in the New Year.
Out: Andy Lyons, Jake Beesley, and Josh Onomah. Doubt: CJ Hamilton and Elkan Baggott.
