Birmingham City manager Pep Clotet has urged his players to deliver a performance to be proud of on Saturday when they head to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

The Blues backed up their opening day victory over Brentford with a 1-1 draw at St Andrew's against Bristol City last week and will now be looking to secure a positive result on their travels.

With Birmingham deploying more of a possession-based style of play under Clotet compared to the tactics utilised by former boss Garry Monk, it will be intriguing to see whether they stick to their principles against Forest at the weekend.

Speaking to the press (as cited by the Blues' official Twitter account) ahead of the club's meeting with the Reds, Clotet said: "Forest is a very tough place to go, it is a big test for us.

[ad_pod ]

"Tomorrow is about making sure we put a performance in that we can be proud of, that is our goal, we want to focus on what we are good at and play to our strengths."

The Blues are set to be without Kerim Mrabti and Jacques Maghoma for their visit to the East Midlands with both players still recovering from injuries suffered against Brentford earlier this month (via Birmingham's Twitter account).

The Verdict

Having enjoyed a positive start to life in charge of Birmingham, Clotet will be wanting to build upon his recent successes by securing a positive result at the City Ground tomorrow.

Whereas a trip to Forest can be very daunting due to the atmosphere that the club's supporters are able to create, there is no reason why the Blues cannot give the home side a real run for their money.

Although not having Mrabti or Maghoma available for selection is a blow for Birmingham, if the likes of Daniel Crowley and Lukas Jutkiewicz can step up to the plate, they may be able to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship this season to three games.