Preview: Birmingham City vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

The Blues recorded a desperately-needed win at Cardiff City on Wednesday night, while the Foxes made hard work of earning maximum points from a contest with Millwall.

Match preview

Wayne Rooney's move to sprinkle a bit of pragmatism onto his front-footed approach worked wonders at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night, with Birmingham City ending a wretched eight-game losing run on the road by defeating Erol Bulut's Bluebirds by a single-goal margin.

A combative midfield of Krystian Bielik, Ivan Sunjic and Welsh sensational Jordan James provided adequate cover for a Blues backline which boasted central defender Emanuel Aiwu at right-back, while at the other end of the pitch, Juninho Bacuna produced a moment of cheekiness to beat Alex Runarsson in the hosts' net.

Representing only the second win in 10 games under the leadership of Manchester United legend Rooney following the sacking of John Eustace in October, Birmingham's victory in South Wales allowed them to move six points clear of 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers, who are enjoying a revival under Marti Cifuentes.

Monday night's clash with the league leaders is clearly a daunting prospect for a side still finding their way under Rooney, but Blues' record at St Andrew's this season will provide some cause for optimism, with the Second City club losing just one of their 10 second-tier home matches so far.

Jay Stansfield and Siriki Dembele are currently leading the team's Golden Boot race with five strikes each in the Championship, and the latter has often been the sole avenue of attack in the early days under Rooney - something the West Midlanders must move away from to pick up results on a regular basis.

After the four-goal demolition at home to Plymouth Argyle last weekend, it was difficult to blame Leicester City supporters for expecting more of the same from their side as Joe Edwards's struggling Millwall visited the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night, but the visitors gave the league leaders a scare.

Tom Bradshaw's glancing header evaded the diving attentions of Mads Hermansen in the Foxes' net to hand the Lions the lead in the East Midlands, although Enzo Maresca's men once again turned the screw in the second period to ensure maximum points, as Jannik Vestergaard, Patson Daka and Ricardo Pereira got onto the scoresheet.

Zambia international Daka has taken full advantage of rare first-team minutes at the start of the festive period due to the absences of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho, with Leicester boss Maresca stating that the 25-year-old might be in line for more game time even when the previously-preferred striking options return.

With Kieran McKenna's Ipswich Town drawing to Norwich City and Daniel Farke's Leeds United sharing the spoils with Coventry City on Saturday afternoon, the Foxes will go three points ahead of second and a mammoth 13 points clear of third place should they be victorious at St Andrew's on Monday.

The Foxes' recent record against Blues is impressive, as the league leaders are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten run against their Midlands counterparts, with the last time they lost to Birmingham coming back in October 2011, when Marlon King and Chris Wood made the net ripple in the Second City during a 2-0 home win.

Birmingham City Championship form:

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Leicester City Championship form:

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Team News

Birmingham were forced to take off leading marksman Stansfield in the closing stages against Cardiff due to a knock, but Rooney has since confirmed that the Fulham loanee is good to go on Monday, meaning Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz will remain on the bench.

The hosts are expected to stick with the 4-3-3 formation which provided them with greater defensive solidity in South Wales, so Dion Sanderson and Marc Roberts will continue as a centre-back partnership.

Ethan Laird and Cody Drameh are set to be sidelined until after the New Year due to hip and ankle injuries, meaning Aiwu is likely to play at right-back once again.

Tyler Roberts is scheduled to return to full training within the next few days following a calf strain, but the former Leeds attacker will not be involved on Monday night.

After dropping out of the XI on Wednesday as Maresca looked to manage his minutes, James Justin should regain his spot in the Leicester team at the expense of Conor Coady.

Given that the Foxes have had five days to recover since their last match, a first-choice midfield of Wilfred Ndidi, Harry Winks and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should play in the West Midlands.

Maresca has confirmed that Vardy will miss a third-straight match due to a knee injury, while Callum Doyle and Harry Souttar remain in the medical room for the title chasers.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Ruddy; Aiwu, Sanderson, Roberts, Buchanan; Bielik, Sunjic, James; Dembele, Bacuna, Stansfield

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Pereira, Vestergaard, Faes, Justin; Ndidi, Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Mavididi, Iheanacho

We say: Birmingham City 1-3 Leicester City

Birmingham were defensively sound on Wednesday night against a woeful Cardiff attack, but dealing with Maresca's Leicester will be a different kettle of fish.

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