Leonard starts, May moves, no Stansfield: Our Birmingham City XI for Bolton clash
Birmingham City host Bolton Wanderers in League One at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday (7:45pm)
Chris Davies is expected to utilise his squad this week in a bid to keep Birmingham City winning.
Blues have two games against in-form opposition in Bolton Wanderers, who visit St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Tuesday, and high-flying Mansfield. Maximum points would see Blues cruise through the 30 points mark inside 12 games.
Bolton have taken 13 points from the last 15 on offer to climb back into contention after a poor start to the season. In contrast to Lincoln, who Blues defeated 3-1 on Saturday, Bolton are a team that prioritises possession with the fourth highest average in the league. Wanderers are averaging 14.1 shots per game (3rd) and five shots on target (2nd).
Blues could be without Jay Stansfield for the second game running, while Scott Wright and Emil Hansson fall into the doubt category too. Davies will be without a number of other players due to injury.
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Ryan Allsop is certain to start after saving another penalty at the weekend. Allsop has saved two of the three penalties he has faced this season. In front of Allsop, Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies have formed a good understanding in the absence of captain Krystian Bielik.
Ethan Laird has returned from injury and could start at right-back after coming through 30 minutes at Lincoln. Davies expects his right-back to get through plenty of running and could give Taylor Gardner-Hickman a breather now that Laird is fit. Alex Cochrane will continue at left-back.
There is a dilemma for Davies in midfield. Paik Seung-ho looked a tad jaded in the second half of Blues’ win at Sincil Bank and conceded a sloppy penalty as a result. Davies has the option of bringing Marc Leonard in for a start, or even moving Gardner-Hickman into midfield. Now might be the time to give Leonard some minutes.
With Hansson expected to miss out, Davies needs to find a new left-winger. Keshi Anderson is the obvious candidate if Davies doesn’t opt for youngster Ayumu Yokoyama. That could see Willum Willumsson retake his position on the right.
Alfie May’s return to the centre-forward’s position reaped rewards with two assists on Saturday but Blues have a Scotland international on the bench who is more than capable of doing the job. May could drop back into a more withdrawn role to accommodate a start for Lyndon Dykes.
How Alex Dicken would line Blues up against Bolton...
(4-2-3-1): Allsop; Laird, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Iwata, Leonard; Willumsson, May, Anderson; Dykes