Wayne Rooney has had a disappointing start to life as Birmingham manager, losing his first two matches in charge of the Blues without scoring.
They face a tough task in their third game under the former England striker, visiting a resurgent Southampton side that are unbeaten in their last five games and are up to fifth in the second tier as a resulte.
Southampton will welcome back Ryan Manning after his one-game suspension but Jack Stephens, Ross Stewart and Juan Larios are still injured.
Che Adams and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are also doubts for the Saints.
Juninho Bacuna is suspended for Birmingham after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
George Hall, Ethan Laird, Tyler Roberts, Keshi Anderson, Lee Buchanan and Alfie Chang also remain sidelined for the visitors.
No team has conceded more goals in the Championship this season than Southampton’s
Five of the Saints’ six league victories this season have been by one goal.
No Championship team has played more games with four or more goals this season than Russell Martin’s have.
Southampton are unbeaten in their last five games, winning three and drawing the other two.
Birmingham have lost both of their games under new manager Wayne Rooney.
These two teams have not met in over 10 years, with their last match a 0-0 draw in February 2012.
Birmingham’s decision to part ways with John Eustace and replace him with Wayne Rooney was controversial with their fanbase and it has not been vindicated in the first two games of the new manager’s spell.
The Blues lost to Middlesbrough 1-0 before being beaten 2-0 by Hull in midweek, after which Rooney’s men were booed off by their home support.
The former Derby manager has tried to get his new side to play out from the back more but admitted his team may not be ready for such a transition from Eustace’s style, which was more direct.
By contrast, Southampton seem to be more and more comfortable with Russell Martin’s playing style and they will punish any mistakes at the back from the Blues — the Saints rank second on the pressing statistics in the Championship this term.
Martin’s men have tightened up at the back recently and have gone unbeaten in their last five matches as a result.
They should be able to extend that record against a Blues side that look uncomfortable playing Rooney’s style of football and have a poor away record.
Given the Saints’ attacking football, it is safe to assume there will be goals in this clash and the home side to make it three defeats in a row for Rooney’s visitors.
