Lee Bowyer’s side 18th in the Championship heading into this weekend’s clash with Derby County.

Birmingham City drew against Peterborough United last time out, with a late quickfire double from Gary Gardener and Scott Hogan inspiring the team to a dramatic 2-2 tie. 

That was a crucial point as it kept the 22nd place side 12 points behind and still in the relegation zone. 

Derby County are 23rd going into this weekend’s game, so it offers Birmingham the chance to stretch the gap to the bottom three even further. 

Here, we predict how Bowyer is likely to line up the side for the crunch clash with the Rams… 

Bowyer has switched to a back four in recent weeks and it is likely that he will stick with that template this weekend.

The back three formation was ditched after the 6-2 loss to Fulham and since then they have picked up four points from their next two games.

Juninho Bacuna may be handed an immediate start following his arrival to the club. 

 

 

Lyle Taylor could also be thrown straight into the side after he signed from Nottingham Forest this week, but Hogan is likely to keep his place after his goal scoring efforts midweek. 

Kristian Pedersen will also likely keep his place despite Bowyer’s disappointment in his recent performances.