Latest injury and team news ahead of the EFL Championship clash between Birmingham City and West Brom
Birmingham City and West Brom go head-to-head in a sold-out Midlands Derby at St Andrew’s Stadium on Friday night.
More than 20,000 fans will be packed in to the stadium for Friday’s clash. An allocation of 2,000 was given to the Baggies, and so a raucous atmosphere is to be expected in front of the Sky Sports television cameras.
Both sides claimed midweek wins – and are hoping to put together a consistent run of form after both endured difficult Septembers. Blues beat Huddersfield Town 4-1 on Tuesday night with the returning Siriki Dembele bagging a brace and earning a man-of-the-match award. Koji Miyoshi and Jordan James were also on target for John Eustace’s side who claimed their first win since late August.
West Brom were also victorious and beat struggling Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 thanks to a 13-minute effort from John Swift. Carlos Corberan’s men hadn’t scored a goal on their travels and in doing so hadn’t won away until last week when they thumped Preston North End 4-0 at Deepdale last week.
A short turn-around of three days, in which Wednesday is probably acting as a recovery day with minimal training, means there isn’t much time for players who are nursing any knocks or niggles to recover. Both managers have had to deal with various injuries to their squad both short-term and long-term.
Flick through the pages to see who’s set to miss the Midlands Derby between the two teams, including someone who’s had the honour of playing for both sides.
1. Tyler Roberts – out
Tyler Roberts won’t be facing the club in which he started his career at. He has been out since early August with a calf injury and suffered a set-back. Photo: Cameron Howard/Getty Images)
2. Jeremy Sarmiento – out
He will be sidelined for four weeks after suffering a quadriceps injury.
3. Alfie Chang – out
Chang suffered a ‘significant’ knee injury in training back in August and required surgery
4. Ethan Laird – out
Eustace said on September 28 that Laird was still three to four weeks away with a hamstring injury suffered against Bristol City.
5. Josh Maja – out
Josh Maja has been sidelined since September 19 with an ankle injury suffered against Bristol City. He won’t be back until after the November international break.
6. George Hall – out
The 29-year-old has been absent since picking up an injury against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup. He is still at least a month away from returning however.
7. Daryl Dike – out
Suffered an Achilles injury earlier this year, and not expected to play a part in West Brom’s campaign till 2024.
8. Keshi Anderson – out
Anderson picked up a hamstring injury against QPR, and is expected to be out for between six to eight weeks
9. Adam Reach – out
Suffered a quad injury in pre-season and is now until the New Year
10. Lee Buchanan – out
Buchanan is out for a ‘number of weeks’ after injuring his ankle in training. He is expected to be out until at least after the international break.
11. Martin Kelly – out
Kelly’s not appeared for West Brom this season, and there is an unspecified time frame as to when he will return.