Birmingham City will look to pick up a much-needed three points this afternoon, but they face a tough task against a Bournemouth side that are competing for promotion.

However, the Cherries have endured a tough run in recent weeks, which resulted in Jason Tindall losing his job.

So, Blues will feel that they can pull off a shock result, and they will take encouragement from the fact that their last win was away to Middlesbrough.

Coming on the back of a frustrating 0-0 draw at Wycombe Wanderers in the week, Aitor Karanka will be pondering over several changes, as those who did play at Adam's Park didn't cover themselves in glory.

Here we look at two major dilemmas that are facing the Spaniard as he weighs up his team selection...

Who replaces Marc Roberts?

The Blues centre-back was sent off late on in the goalless draw, so he will miss today's trip to the south coast.

Whilst that's a blow, Karanka does have plenty of options when it comes to bringing in a replacement. One of those could see Mikel San Jose go back into central defence, with Jake Clarke-Salter another who is pushing for a start.

Harlee Dean is set to start, and he has been partnered by different names over the course of the campaign, so there shouldn't be any concerns about who comes in alongside him.

Who starts up top?

Perhaps the most notable arrival at St. Andrew's in the January window was the signing of Sam Cosgrove, so it was very strange that the striker didn't come on against Wycombe.

But, with a few days training with his new teammates, the ex-Aberdeen man will hope to get a start.

That's not the only dilemma facing Karanka though, as he has plenty of other options. Does Jonathan Leko start alongside Cosgrove in a game where Blues could be countering? Does he go with one up top? Does Scott Hogan come in?

Scoring goals has been a major issue this season, so it will be very interesting to see who starts, but it would be a shock if Cosgrove wasn't in the XI from the off.