The Tigers will hope to kick off their next run into the international break with victory in the second city
Birmingham City chief Chris Davies wants the home supporters to create a hostile welcome for Hull City when the Tigers arrive at St Andrew’s on Saturday, looking to end the hosts’ impressive run.
The Blues have gone 29 games unbeaten at their home ground, which is a record that dates back to April 2024, but should Sergej Jakirovic’s men return to East Yorkshire victorious, they would notch a first away success and make it successive wins for the first time in more than 12 months.
Both clubs sit on 12 points with three wins, draws and defeats from their opening nine games, though the Tigers have bagged six more goals compared with their hosts, with Davies aware of the threat posed by their frontline headed up by Oli McBurnie.
“They (City) have got threats, like a lot of teams, but you can see they’ve got some quality in the final third,” the Blues boss said in his pre-match media briefing. “I’ve watched a lot of their games and they’ve had some up and down results at times, but there’s plenty there that they’ve got to be competitive, definitely.
“There’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities that we can exploit, but there’s also strengths that they can be really dangerous, so we have to pay attention to that. Like any Championship game, there’s always an underlying feeling that the opposition can hurt you if you’re not vigilant, but we really need to impose our game.
“But we are at home against them, and we are feeling very excited about being back in front of our supporters again and trying to create that kind of intensity that’s difficult for them.
“I think everyone has always known that Birmingham City away, when you play at our stadium, it should be a difficult game, a hostile atmosphere and I just want us to capture that all the time because the reason we are unbeaten at home is a combination of the players on the pitch and supporters in the stands. That atmosphere that is created is a big strength of ours and our home form is going to be hugely important.”
On the injury front, it was feared that in-form winger Demarai Gray would be unavailable after missing Jamaica’s games during the international window, but Davies has allayed fears over the ex-Leicester City ace.
Bright Osayi-Samuel, Willum Willumsson, Marvin Ducksch, Ethan Laird, Lee Buchanan and Scott Wright are expected to miss the visit of the Tigers. Demarai is fine, he was more precautionary,” Davies continued. “Willum is getting close to training with the group so he’s not far away. Marvin is not far away from training with the group. Bright is close, but we will see how he goes.”
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