Blues head to Deepdale on Tuesday evening desperately seeking an upturn in fortune.
Preston North End are one of the best teams in the Championship on home soil, so it won’t be an easy task to arrest the current sequence of results.
In the main, Blues played well against Hull City. Slack moments defensively, the sending-off of Jack Robinson and lack of clinical edge were decisive (65 per cent possession, 28 shots). The referee was a contributory factor on how the match panned out, too.
But Blues 29-game unbeaten run in the league at St. Andrew’s came crashing down and it’s now four Championship outings without a victory and inevitably pressure levels crank up.
The biggest selection issue tonight is who replaces the suspended Robinson.
Chris Davies has explained why Robinson got the nod, at the expense of Phil Neumann – simply an issue of balance, Robinson being a left-footed centre-half, and his experience of the league.
“He (Neumann) came out of the team when I felt we needed a left-footed centre-back for our balance – I felt we were getting a bit stuck and finding it hard to progress the ball,” Davies told BBC Radio WM’s Richard Wilford.
“Having a left-footer was a bit more seamless getting the ball wider, quicker.
“It’s a different league and we need to adapt and Jack is someone who knows it really well.
“I think he’s (Neumann) new to the country and league and shown some of his qualities. But, as I’ve said to him, he needs to keep proving it every day and keep earning his place in the team and with Jack and (Eiran) Cashin there’s good competition in there.”
So the choice this evening is between Cashin – another left-footer – or recalling Neumann.
Blues pursued Neumann at length and there was great fanfare when his signing from Hannover 96 was secured.
Quite simply, he has to come back in and Blues have to make it work. Whether that means Klarer staying on the right hand side and Nuemann having to adapt on the left, then so be it. He is athletic, he adds extra aerial strength – Preston are a big side – he knows how to defend.
Bright Osayi-Samuel returned to the bench after a foot issue on Saturday and he could be thrown in, allowing Davies to move Tomoki Iwata back into midfield.
Iwata has done well at right-back. It is a position he has played before, earlier in his career and at Celtic. It enabled a tweak, too, as Iwata stepped into midfield against Hull and that allowed Paik Seung-ho to push further on and increase the control in the middle third.
It was probably a means to an end move, however, due to Ethan Laird’s long-term injury and Osayi-Samuel’s absence, plus Davies not fancying the merits of Alfons Sampsted.
Keshi Anderson and Patrick Roberts were very influential for Blues in the first-half especially against the Tigers. Marc Leonard also was excellent.
Anderson was in the 10 role and, away from home in a game where Blues need to get something, he could provide the prudent solution, at least initially.
Blues have lost three of their last four away outings and tonight’s game is one where strong hearts and minds will count for so much in regard how Blues go about it, and however they line-up.
