Birmingham City suffered their second loss this week as they fell to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to play-off hopefuls Huddersfield Town, another boost for the latter in their quest to secure a top-six spot.

For the Blues though, they would have been hoping for a response following their 2-1 loss against Reading in midweek, a game in which they failed to be clinical enough on the night as they left it too late to secure a point or three.

Arguably coming up against a stronger side in Huddersfield, they would have been hoping to respond - but the absence of Lyle Taylor, other forwards and the unavailability of several defenders proved to be costly in the end.

 

 

They gave themselves an uphill battle yet again but unlike midweek, they succumbed to pressure in the opening 45 with Lewis O'Brien and Levi Colwill all but sealing the game for Carlos Corberan's men who came up against a weakened Birmingham outfit.

It's back to the drawing board for the Blues' boss Lee Bowyer as he looks to rally his troops and ensure they remain away from any relegation danger.

Following yesterday's clash, we take a look at three things we clearly learnt about the hosts.

They needed to recruit Wisdom

Injuries at centre-back are proving to be a real problem for the Blues and this crisis has only deepened with Maxime Colin being forced off early on at St Andrew's.

Not only are they unable to operate with three at the back now - but they barely have the options to play two in central defence and this will be a real worry for Bowyer with their form continuing to tail off.

Without options coming back, things will only get worse and even if one or two return in time for next weekend's clash at Bristol City, the addition of trialist Andre Wisdom would surely make sense with the West Midlands side not under any sort of transfer embargo.

It may also allow them to revert to a back-three formation, something they were accustomed to this season before their injury crisis started to bite. One good bit of news is the fact they have no fixtures between now and their tie at Ashton Gate, so they will have a full week to try and get as many players recovered as possible.

Jutkiewicz can only be a bench player

Lukas Jutkiewicz has been a fine servant at Birmingham and regardless of what happens in the future, he will go down as a cult hero for remaining loyal to the club and previously being a regular source of goals.

However, it's clear he's no longer a viable starting option and that will need to be in the second-tier side's considerations when targeting players during the summer window.

There's no doubt he can still be a good asset to have from the bench, not only as a physical presence but also an aerial one and he certainly showed his ability against Reading in midweek.

But when the likes of Lyle Taylor, Troy Deeney and Scott Hogan return from their respective setbacks, with the latter two still expected to be absent for a couple of weeks, they must be ahead of the 32-year-old in the pecking order.

Injuries need to be investigated

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This is an issue that needed to be looked at even before this tie against the Terriers - but Colin’s withdrawal in the 25th minute has reinforced this.

Injuries last season were expected because 2020/21 had such a packed fixture schedule - but there shouldn’t be any real excuses this term and unfortunately - this is an issue that’s now proving to be detrimental on the pitch.

To have no senior centre-backs fit has to be called into question and after Colin’s departure, Birmingham were arguably operating with one full-back, eight midfielders and one centre-forward.

Some would question their inability to complete more incoming business during the January window in this situation and they have a valid point - but that would almost deflect from the injury issues they’ve had.

Changes certainly need to be made in the summer to prevent this from happening again - because it will punish the Blues for years to come if they fail to address this problem.