Preview: Birmingham City vs. Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

The Blues were victorious over League One's Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night to set up a clash with Blackburn Rovers next week, whereas the aim for Preston will be to respond after a heavy defeat to Norwich City last Saturday.

Match preview

Birmingham headed to The New Lawn for their third-round FA Cup tie with Forest Green following four-straight losses in the Championship, John Eustace's worst run since taking the reins at the start of the season.

Blues have looked fatigued and uncharacteristically disorganised since returning from the World Cup break, and that worrying theme continued in the first half in Gloucestershire as Forest Green deservedly led at the half-time interval courtesy of a sweet strike from Ben Stevenson.

A triple substitution and a departure from a back three ensued during the half-time break, which changed the course of the game, with goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz and Kevin Long securing Blues' passage into the fourth round - although Neil Etheridge had to be at his acrobatic best to avoid an unwanted replay.

The aim now will be to take the momentum from that success into the Championship, where Birmingham are sitting in 18th position, six points above the relegation zone and nine behind sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion.

Injuries have impacted the progression of Eustace's close-knit squad - especially in defensive areas - with the 43-year-old keen to remind supporters and players alike that they must stick together through the inevitable tough periods of a 46-game Championship season.

Preston also managed to secure their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup after beating Huddersfield Town 3-1 a fortnight ago, but the Lilywhites were unable to record three-straight wins in all competitions as they were trashed 4-0 by Norwich last weekend.

Championship legend Teemu Pukki and Kieran Dowell both bagged braces at Deepdale for David Wagner's side, with Preston unable to contain the Canaries in their heaviest loss of the campaign to date.

The period at the start of the season when Ryan Lowe's men were freakishly hard to score against is a distant memory - Preston have kept just one clean sheet in their last nine matches, a record which has made it difficult for North End to keep pace with the league's top six.

Preston are currently 13th in the league standings, four points behind West Brom in sixth, and considering the form of the likes of the Baggies and Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough, Lowe's men need to string a few wins together in order to reignite their playoff dreams.

The Lilywhites have been expert travellers so far this season - collecting 24 points from 13 outings - and should be confident heading to a ground where they are unbeaten in their last three visits.

Birmingham City Championship form:

D

W

L

L

L

L

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

W

L

L

L

L

W

Preston North End Championship form:

W

L

L

L

W

L

Preston North End form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

W

L

Team News

Birmingham City attacker Reda Khadra will return to the matchday squad this Saturday after being ineligible to play in the FA Cup clash with Forest Green, meaning Eustace could hand the German his first start for the club alongside Troy Deeney.

Eustace gave updates on the injuries to defenders Marc Roberts (hamstring) and Harlee Dean (calf) after the cup win on Tuesday, with the Blues boss stating both are still a couple of weeks away from action.

Midfielder Jobe Bellingham is expected to be sidelined for around a month due to a stomach injury, whereas fellow youngster George Hall has been training on the grass this week as he recovers from a hamstring strain.

Nico Gordon appeared in a Birmingham matchday squad for the first time this campaign against Forest Green after time out due to a medical condition, with the young defender looking to rival Long, Dion Sanderson and Auston Trusty for a place in the Blues backline.

Preston have been boosted this week by the return of Sean Maguire to full training, with the striker fully fit to face Birmingham on Saturday afternoon according to manager Lowe.

Emil Riis Jakobsen is set to be a long-term absentee for the Lilywhites after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in the win at Stoke City, meaning the aforementioned Maguire and Ched Evans will have more of the goalscoring burden placed on them for the rest of the season.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Ruddy; Sanderson, Long, Trusty; Colin, Bielik, Hannibal, Chong, Graham; Khadra, Deeney

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Woodman; Diaby, Storey, Lindsay; Fernandez, Browne, Ledson, Johnson, Hughes; Delap, Parrott

We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Preston North End

Birmingham needed that cup win against Forest Green to prevent a full-blown panic from commencing amongst supporters, but they must now back that victory up with a respectable performance and result in the Championship this weekend.

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