Four months on from being relieved of his duties in the Second City, John Eustace will take Blackburn Rovers to face his former employers Birmingham City on Tuesday night in the Championship.
Blues were dragged closer to an unlikely relegation dogfight following a loss at Sheffield Wednesday last time out, while Rovers defeated Stoke City at Ewood Park.
Match preview
© Reuters
Birmingham extended their losing run across all competitions to three matches on Friday night courtesy of a 2-0 loss at Danny Rohl's relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday, with goals either side of the half-time break from Cardiff City loanee Ike Ugbo securing maximum points for the hosts at Hillsborough.
Despite registering over 55 shots during contests with Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and the aforementioned Owls, Blues have been unable to make the net ripple, with the likes of Scott Hogan and Juninho Bacuna spurning decent chances to end their side's struggles in front of goal last time out.
Partly due to Queens Park Rangers collecting eight points from their last four second-tier matches, Tony Mowbray's side are slowly being dragged into a battle at the foot of the Championship, with the Second City club currently 19th, just three points above Marti Cifuentes's men in the drop zone.
Blues have often relied on moments of magic to save them from relegation fears in recent years, and that might have to be the case one more time before the club's new American ownership flex their financial power in the summer transfer window, with the ultimate aim being promotion to the Premier League.
Losing 11 out of their 16 Championship away games, Birmingham are being kept afloat in the second tier by a decent record at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, with Tuesday's hosts collecting 21 points from 14 home contests in the league, losing on just three occasions.
© Reuters
Blackburn ended their eight-game losing run in the Championship with the help of interim boss Damien Johnson on Saturday afternoon at Ewood Park, beating fellow strugglers Stoke City 3-1, with Rovers doing all of the damage during a sensational 37 minutes of the first half.
Tyrhys Dolan doubled his league goal tally from two to four with a quickfire brace, whilst the division's leading goalscorer Sammie Szmodics netted his 17th strike in 28 second-tier appearances to pile the pressure on Steven Schumacher in charge of the out-of-form Potters.
With Birmingham sitting in sixth place on October 6, Tuesday's hosts decided to wield the axe on Eustace allowing Wayne Rooney's ill-fated spell at Blues to commence, and after four months of numerous links to vacant jobs in the Championship, the 44-year-old has found a new managerial home at Ewood Park.
Following a first league win since the middle of December last time out, Rovers have moved up to 17th in the second-tier standings, sitting seven points ahead of 22nd-placed QPR, who have played a game more than the one-time Premier League champions.
Team News
© Reuters
After starting the Sheffield Wednesday loss on the bench due to fatigue, Jay Stansfield is expected to return to the Birmingham XI on Tuesday night.
The performance of Paik Seung-ho was a rare highlight from a sobering night at Hillsborough, with the South Korea international pushing for his full debut.
Neil Etheridge will continue in between the sticks due to the injury of John Ruddy, who joins Dion Sanderson, Alfie Chang and George Hall on a list of absentees.
Blackburn are set to be without the services of Harry Pickering until early March because of a hamstring strain, with the defender missing his team's last three matches.
Eustace's options at the back are restricted further by the absence of Hayden Carter, who is also occupying a place in the Rovers' medical room due to a hamstring issue.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Laird, Bielik, Long, Buchanan; Sunjic, James; Miyoshi, Paik, Dembele; Stansfield
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Hyam, McFadzean, Chrisene; Brittain, Rankin-Costello, Tronstad, Hedges; Dolan, Szmodics, Gallagher
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Birmingham will be happy to be back at St Andrew's following three-straight losses on the road, and Blues should be able to end their barren spell in front of the net.
Eustace will be desperate to get one over his former club on Tuesday night, but we believe that Blackburn will have to settle for a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic
