Birmingham City continued their strong start to the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Barnsley at St Andrew's on Tuesday evening. 

Goals from Lucas Jutkiewicz and summer signing, Alvaro Gimenez proved to be enough to see Pep Clotet's side move up to 8th in the Championship table.

But the Birmingham boss sprung a surprise in his team selection, as midfielder, Danny Crowley was only named as a substitute for the game against the Tykes.

Crowley didn't feature at all against Barnsley, which certainly came as a surprise to many of the Birmingham supporters on the night.

It remains to be seen as to why Crowley didn't get minutes under his belt, although Clotet potentially could have been keen to rest him ahead of the busy Championship schedule.

But as a summer signing, the midfielder will be wanting to play as much as he can to prove to supporters that he can offer something to the Birmingham team this season.

Crowley has looked impressive for the Blues in his first three appearances of this year's league campaign as well, and will be hoping that he can force his way back into the starting XI at the earliest of opportunities.

His future in the starting XI could depend on what formation Pep Clotet opts to go with though, as Birmingham looked impressive in the 5-3-2 formation.

With Crowley being a CAM, it could mean that his chances are limited going forward, especially if Clotet chooses to remain with the current formation that proved to be successful against Barnsley recently.

Gimenez partnered Lucas Jutkiewicz up-front, and it's a formation that seems to work, as Birmingham looked impressisve throughout the game against Daniel Stendel's men.

With Gimenez making a good impression on his debut, Crowley has every right to be fearing for his place in the starting XI, although competition for places is always the ideal dilemma to have for a manager.

We're still in the early stages of this season though, and there will be plenty of time for a player of Crowley's quality to prove himself worthy of a starting spot as the Championship season progresses.