Birmingham City will try to return to winning ways when they take on Blackburn Rovers at St Andrew's on Tuesday night.
Gary Rowett's side have suffered back-to-back defeats, but they still remain Championship playoff contenders, while Blackburn have the chance of earning two away wins on the bounce.
Birmingham City
© Getty Images
From a side that finished 15 points behind the playoff places last season, the Blues have impressed by moving into the top six of the Championship table.
Rowett's men have managed to gain seven wins and three draws while suffering four defeats this season overall, leaving them in a healthy position at the start of November.
Birmingham are just six points behind leaders Brighton, but they have struggled in their last two games, which have both ended in defeats.
The Blues had home advantage against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend as they attempted to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Hull City at the KC Stadium the previous week.
However, it was not to be as Dave Edwards and Sheyi Ojo struck away goals to give Wolves a 2-0 triumph at St Andrew's.
Birmingham have suffered just four defeats all season in the Championship, three of which have been on home soil, and the worry for Rowett's side is that they have conceded in every single home match played in the Championship.
Prior to Birmingham's double blip, the team won four games on the bounce.
Recent form: WWWWLL
Blackburn Rovers
© Getty Images
Gary Bowyer's side have had trouble getting wins on the board this season having recorded just three out of 14 Championship games.
Blackburn could not get over the line at the start of the campaign as they played out four draws and suffered three defeats before claiming their first triumph in a 3-0 result over Charlton Athletic at Ewood Park.
Since then though, they have been unable to gain any momentum, but after two more defeats and another draw, things looked up when they sealed a 2-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road last week.
Goals from Craig Conway and Jordan Rhodes were enough to give Blackburn all three points, but they will need to continue that run if they want to improve on their spot in 15th position in the league table.
Blackburn have managed just five clean sheets this season, conceding 14 goals and also scoring 14 at the other end, but just four of them have come in their last five fixtures.
Recent form: DWLDLW
Team News
© Getty Images
Rowett has one doubt in his squad ahead of Tuesday's fixture, and that is over the fitness of Maikel Kieftenbeld, who limped off the field against Wolves at the weekend.
The midfielder was withdrawn from the pitch just before the hour mark at St Andrew's and is battling to be fit for the midweek meeting.
David Davis also suffered an injury during the game last weekend, but is expected to be available when Rowett selects his team on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Blackburn defender Grant Hanley required stitches to his head following a clash during the game against Leeds, which puts his starting ability in doubt.
Rhodes is likely to lead the line, with Tom Lawrence providing support following his impressive performance at Elland Road.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Kuszczak; Caddis, Morrison, Robinson, Grounds; Gleeson, Cotterill, Davis, Maghoma, Gray; Donaldson
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Steele; Marshall, Duffy, Kilgallon, Olsson, Taylor, Evans, Akpan, Conway, Lawrence; Rhodes
Head To Head
Clean sheets are few and far between for Birmingham when these two sides enter the pitch against one another - the Blues have conceded in all of the last 23 games against Blackburn.
However, the visitors to St Andrew's have only been able to claim one victory in their last eight league trips to the stadium.
Rhodes is Blackburn's top scorer this season with eight goals so far, and if history is anything to go by, the striker could extend his tally on Tuesday as he has scored four times in his last five games against Birmingham.
In this fixture last April, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw.
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Birmingham are arguably exceeding expectations this season given that they are in the playoff places, but they have shown under Rowett that they have goals in them. The problem for the Blues, though, is that they have only managed to keep four clean sheets in 14 games.
Blackburn need a run of wins, and while they have struggled for consistency, they have Rhodes at their disposal, who has had his shooting boots on in his last few appearances against Birmingham. Both sides could get on the scoresheet, but they may struggle to find a winner.
Danielle Joynson
