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

Blues are winless in their last five league matches but did manage a draw in the FA Cup at Hull City last time out, while the Swans eased past Morecambe to reach the fourth round.

Match preview

Birmingham find themselves at the beginning of a new dawn after announcing the arrival of experienced second-tier coach Tony Mowbray to the managerial hotseat on Monday morning, with the 60-year-old tasked with stabilising the football club on the pitch following a dreadful period under Rooney.

The Manchester United and England legend's final match as Blues manager arrived at Elland Road on New Year's Day, when the visitors were outclassed by their Premier League-chasing opponents, with Patrick Bamford, Daniel James and Crysencio Summerville securing a 3-0 success for Daniel Farke's men.

Although the acquisition of former Nottingham Forest coach Steve Cooper was top of Birmingham's to-do list at the start of the calendar year, the arrival of Mowbray represents a shrewd appointment from owner Tom Wagner and CEO Garry Cook, who were punished for replacing John Eustace with Rooney in October.

After a run of one victory in nine Championship fixtures dating back to the end of November, Blues are now 20th in the second-tier standings, just six points ahead of 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday, who are enjoying a mini-revival under the leadership of German tactician Danny Rohl.

Despite the club's ownership being very keen to invest in the playing staff, Birmingham's spending in this month's transfer window is set to be limited by sustainability rules and there has been more attention on potential outgoings so far in January, with Wales international Jordan James heavily linked to Serie A club Atalanta BC.

Swansea's first match under the tutelage of Luke Williams ended in victory last weekend, with the Swans breezing past League Two strugglers Morecambe in South Wales thanks to strikes from former Blackpool duo Charlie Patino and Jerry Yates, booking the hosts' spot in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

A New Year's Day success over Carlos Corberan's West Bromwich Albion means Swansea have won back-to-back matches for the first time since early October, although the team have a long way to go in order to meet their ambitions of competing at the top end of the Championship.

For many Swansea supporters, the appointment of ex-Barnsley boss Michael Duff in the summer did not match the club's possession-based identity which has served them admirably during the reigns of Graham Potter and Russell Martin, with the Jack Army now hoping that the arrival of Williams from Notts County can get the Welsh team back on the right track.

Due to the highly-competitive nature of the Championship's middle section, the Swans are only eight points behind sixth-placed Sunderland despite sitting in 16th, with a win at St Andrew's this weekend potentially enough to see Williams's side go above Norwich City, Preston North End and Millwall.

Following the sale of flying Dutchman Joel Piroe to Leeds in the summer transfer window, Swansea have had to share the goalscoring burden around their ranks so far this season, although Yates and Jamal Lowe currently lead the Golden Boot race with six and five league strikes respectively.

Birmingham City Championship form:

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Birmingham City form (all competitions):

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Swansea City Championship form:

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Swansea City form (all competitions):

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Team News

After being kept in the dark by former boss Rooney, Kevin Long is expected to rekindle his relationship with Dion Sanderson at centre-back for Birmingham under Mowbray, especially considering that Marc Roberts is struggling with a calf injury.

Ethan Laird is a major absentee for Blues at right-back, meaning Cody Drameh will continue on the right side of the defence, with the always-reliable Lee Buchanan on the left.

It will be interesting to see Mowbray's first Birmingham XI on Saturday and whether the 60-year-old can get the best out of attacking talents such as Siriki Dembele and Koji Miyoshi.

As for Swansea, Harrison Ashby has returned from parent club Newcastle United following his rehabilitation for a hamstring injury, but the right-back is unlikely to start this weekend.

Williams has stressed the importance of getting Patino into more advanced positions over the past week, meaning Matt Grimes and Jay Fulton should be the deeper-midfield pairing at St Andrew's.

Azeem Abdulai earned his first minutes since late August in the FA Cup victory over Morecambe after a hamstring strain, but the defender is not expected to start against Birmingham.

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Ruddy; Drameh, Sanderson, Long, Buchanan; Bielik, James, Miyoshi; Anderson, Dembele, Stansfield

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Darling, Cabango, Humphreys, Tymon; Fulton, Grimes, Cullen, Patino, Paterson; Lowe

We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Swansea City

Birmingham felt lost with Rooney at the helm, but the appointment of Mowbray ticks all the right boxes, and he will be desperate to begin with a win on Saturday.

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