BLUES v Ipswich preview

McLeish's men go into tonights clash with Ipswich looking for their third straight win after two 3-2 thrillers against Charlton and Swansea.

Back to back wins for the Blues has opened up a gap of four points between third place Reading, however they still trail midlands rivals Wolves by six.

Both Reading and Wolves are also in action tonight. Reading go away to Cardiff while Wolves travel to in form Sheffield United. This means that with promotion rivals facing tough tests away from home it is vital that points aren't dropped tonight at St Andrews.


Nigel Quashie comes back into contention after serving a one match ban against Swansea on Friday. The West Ham midfielder signed a loan extension on Monday that will keep him at the club until December 28th.

Stuart Parnaby has recovered from a hamstring injury but will not feature in tonights game as he seeks to regain match fitness for the trip to Wolves on Saturday. McLeish is still without Damien Johnson, Gary O'Connor, Gary McSheffrey and Stephen Kelly for tonights game.

For Ipswich, on loan defender Moritz Volz is available for selection after serving his suspension. Former Blues defender Alex Bruce is expected to keep his place at the heart of the Ipswich defence with skipper Gareth McAuley back in the squad after he has recovered from a hamstring problem. Midfielder David Norris misses the game because of a dead leg.

"We've got to build on the last two results," said McLeish, "we've certainly liked to do it the hard way over the last couple of weeks."

McLeish also added: "We have now go to take this spirit and character that the side has shown into the Ipswich game and hopefully we can see the performance levels go up considerably."

Ipswich boss Jim Magilton believes the key will be to silence the home crowd and play their own game, "Birmingham are a very good side, they have Premiership experience and everything suggests a home win."

"My players are relishing the challenge. Birmingham are a team you would expect to be at the top of the table and they have shown that."

Tonights game is huge for Blues in terms of picking up all three points to keep the pressure on their rivals. An early goal or two will surely ease the nervs of the Blues faithful and allow the team to enjoy thier football. McLeish's mean can't afford to be complacent however.

MATCH ODDS

BLUES 17/20 DRAW 5/2 Ipswich 10/3