Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet has revealed that experienced duo Marc Roberts and Jacques Maghoma are in contention to start against Middlesbrough at St. Andrew's tomorrow.

The duo both missed the defeat at Wigan on Tuesday and their absence was felt, with a toothless Blues side falling to a third consecutive defeat in the Championship.

Therefore, pressure is starting to build on Clotet ahead of the visit of struggling Middlesbrough but the Spaniard confirmed to the club's media that he will be able to call on the centre-back and winger for the game.

"I have had a close look at it, I took some precautionary calls in my selection during the week, we have had a tough 10 days with three games, Roberts and Maghoma are all good and ready for tomorrow."

The influential Roberts is likely to come back into the XI at the expense of Jake Clarke-Salter whilst Maghoma could start ahead of either Danny Crowley or Fran Villalba down the flanks.

A win for Blues would see them move back into the top half ahead of the weekend games.

The verdict

This is a huge boost for Clotet and the team as both players will add a lot to the XI, particularly Roberts who has formed a decent partnership with Harlee Dean this season.

There is a lot riding on this after recent results, so the manager should also be pleased to have two more experienced members of his squad to choose from.

It will be interesting to see the team that Clotet goes with as he looks to end an alarming run of form.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

[freshpress-poll ]