Miyoshi out, 4-2-3-1: The predicted Birmingham City XI to face Stoke on Saturday | OneFootball

Highlights

Tony Mowbray is set to take charge of his third game as Birmingham City manager this weekend.

The Blues drew 2-2 against Swansea City in his opening fixture last Saturday, with goals from Siriki Dembele and Jordan James securing a draw against Luke Williams’ team.

A 2-1 midweek win over Hull City in the FA Cup earned the 60-year-old his first victory at his new club to progress to the fourth round of the competition.

Mowbray will be aiming to earn his first league win since taking over at St. Andrew’s this weekend when his side travels to Stoke City, with the club aiming to climb above their opponents in the table if they can win well.

Here we look at the predicted Birmingham starting lineup for their clash away to the Potters.

GK: John Ruddy

Ruddy has been first-choice goalkeeper all season, and Mowbray has entrusted him to remain in the team in his first two games already.

It would be a surprise to see him drop to the bench.

LB: Lee Buchanan

Buchanan has come straight back into the starting lineup in the last couple of weeks since returning from injury.

The defender is an important part of the squad, and could become a key player for Mowbray.

CB: Dion Sanderson

Sanderson has missed just one league game all season, and is one of the first names on the team sheet, regardless of the manager.

CB: Kevin Long

Long was out of the team during Wayne Rooney’s time as manager, but Mowbray brought him back into the fold last weekend.

Another appearance this weekend could be on the cards, as the veteran coach looks to establish his first-choice backline.

RB: Cody Drameh

Drameh has featured 17 times for Birmingham this season, including starts in each of their last four games.

The Leeds United loanee could be an important figure for Mowbray throughout the remainder of his time in the Midlands, before and beyond Ethan Laird's return.

Bielik is a standout figure for Birmingham, becoming a mainstay in the side ever since joining from Derby County last season.

CM: Ivan Sunjic

Sunjic has similarly cemented his place in the team, returning from a loan spell in Germany over the summer to become a key cog.

This midfield pairing could be crucial for Mowbray’s start to life at St. Andrew’s.

Dembele scored the first goal of the new manager’s reign at Birmingham, and he is likely to feature from the start again this weekend.

AM: Jordan James

James was on the bench last weekend amid interest in the teenager from Serie A side Atalanta.

However, he could come back into the starting lineup after his last minute equaliser against the Swans.

With Scott Hogan likely to lead the line, Stansfield on the right could be a smart solution to get both in the team consistently.

However, he and the rest of Blues' front four will be under pressure to perform given Mowbray's comments on Miyoshi's importance to the side going into the game after his winner against Hull - a game in which Stansfield also scored.

“Hopefully he can impact [more],” said the Blues boss, via Birmingham Live.

“He did the other day by scoring a really important goal.”

While the Japan international started through the middle last weekend, his future likely lies on the right-flank - the position we expect Stansfield to be in this weekend.

He continued: “I genuinely feel that he’s one of the players, in my mind, that has to play most weeks because of his football intelligence and the way we’re going to ask the team to play, we’re going to need some intelligent footballers there.”

ST: Scott Hogan

Amid reported interest in Hogan from relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Hogan should keep his place in the team this weekend.

He failed to get on the scoresheet last Saturday, but still made a positive contribution in attack in Mowbray's first game in charge and could keep his spot in the starting lineup as a result.

With the possibility of Stansfield also being able to play up front and Miyoshi coming into the team on the right, there will be pressure on the striker to maintain this level going forward.