Last season did not go to plan for Birmingham City as they finished the year sat 20th in the league, just two places above the relegation zone. 

Since the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign though there has been plenty of change at St Andrew's both on and off the pitch.

Lee Bowyer departed the club and John Eustace has come in as the new manager.

The club are also in the process of a takeover which they are hoping will improve them going forward.

For now though, the full focus of the Blues has to be on Saturday's opening game of the season away at Luton Town.

The Hatters made it to the play-offs last season although were unable to overcome Huddersfield Town and make it to the final.  Nevertheless, they will be setting their sights high again this year meaning they will want to get off to a good start.

With that in mind, here we take a look at the latest team and injury news coming out of St Andrew's as Eustace ponders over his starting line-up for the game.

 

 

Following the Blues' 2-2 draw with Rayo Vallecano in the weekend's friendly, Eustace confirmed that Dion Sanderson had to be withdrawn from action early due to an injury after he limped off with about 15 minutes to go.

This came after a heavy challenge and whilst the manager is hopeful it's just a kick, it's not what fans wanted to see a week before the season gets underway.

Harlee Dean has also missed out of late but the boss is hopeful he too will be fit and therefore available for selection.

Meanwhile both George Friend and Lukas Jutkiewicz have retuned to training this week. With neither player having featured in a pre-season game yet, it's unlikely we will see them involved in the starting line-up but they could be able to provide depth.

The Blues go into the season with multiple goalkeepers to choose from. However, with Neil Etheridge's Birmingham future still uncertain, it's likely we will see new signing John Ruddy start the season instead.