Bournemouth go to Birmingham knowing that they have been not scoring freely of late and after their first defeat they'll want to refind their form. The team that Jason Tindall put out last time was one of the strongest he could have put out, but he'll need to find a replacement for Steve Cook if Bournemouth don't challenge his one-match ban. Bournemouth will need to pick players that are going to fight harder for the win than in recent matches as Birmingham City are coming off the back of a home defeat and also need to reestablish St Andrews as more of a fortress.
Birmingham will seek to redress their problems in being ought fought in their last game against Wycombe Wanderers. Aitor Karanka spoke of not being able to be complacent against Wycombe and dropping their standards but that is exactly what they did after a good 1-2 away win against Preston North End. Birmingham have been indifferent at home with two wins a draw and two defeats in their last five games at home.
Their top scorers are striker Jerémie Bela and midfielder Gary Gardner on two goals each. Striker Lukas Jutkiewicz has also got a goal to get of the mark, but while there are a spread of other players on one goal, Birmingham have only scored four goals in their last five games. Their biggest win is a 2-1 home win over Huddersfield Town, so they haven't exactly been rolling teams over but they have been competitive and have no heavy defeats.
Adam Clayton and George Friend missed Birmingham's last game and they are the vocal players so they might be back against Bournemouth. Scott Hogan is the man that Karanka needs to start featuring on the goal sheet, as he was a big signing this summer from Aston Villa. Fans have been impressed with Mikel San Jose in midfield and Neil Etheridge in goal who was signed from Cardiff City. Birmingham City has been a rebuild project, but they are not fully settled yet and that is what Bournemouth have to take advantage of.
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