Birmingham are yet to win under Wayne Rooney but drew with high-flying Ipswich Town last time out.
Tony Mowbray is also facing a few headaches of his own, with both of his first choice central defenders ruled out due to suspension and with a number of other players still sidelined due to injury.
The Sunderland head coach held his pre-match press conference on Thursday, and here’s what we learned…
1. JENSON SEELT STARTS
The big talking point this week has been how Tony Mowbray will manage the absence of Dan Ballard and Luke O’Nien, his two central defenders who have been both suspended. While not giving the team away fully, Mowbray confirmed on Thursday that Jenson Seelt will make his full debut. Saying that he will look to get experience around him to support him, it seems unlikely that Nectar Triantis will start and Dennis Cirkin therefore looks likely to join Seelt in the side. “I’m hoping Jenson will be OK,” Mowbray said. “He’s going to be nervous, as I always say when somebody potentially makes their debut, you have to make it easy for them, you have to feel for your teammate and make that job comfortable. “I think the players around him are experienced enough and will do that, so hopefully we don’t even notice him and we get a clean sheet and we win the game and everybody is happy.” Photo: Frank Reid
2. THE CAPTAIN (FOR NOW)
O’Nien’s absence also leaves Sunderland without a captain. Though not confirmed when he spoke to the press on Thursday, Mowbray strongly suggested that he will give that honour to Dan Neil. “I would suggest 99% in my mind Dan will be captain and rightly so, he deserves it,” Mowbray said. “As I said to you earlier, he’s starting to show real leadership qualities on the grass around the position he plays. Understanding how we need to push in around the ball or we need to get tucked in off the side or we need to sit off a bit here, how we roll people into different areas. “He understands football and he can make it happen on the grass rather than me screaming like an idiot for 90 minutes. It’s good when you have players who understand and move people around on the pitch for you.” Photo: Frank Reid
3. A POSSIBLE DEBUT
Mowbray confirmed that he expected Eliezer Mayenda to be named in the squad for the first time, though any debut will be a limited one. “I think there’s every chance he’ll be on the bench this weekend,” Mowbray said. “It’ll be a cameo role if he does come on, he’s still only played one ninety minutes against Hibernian behind closed doors. He hasn’t played much so we’ll have to be careful. He’s going to play in a bounce game next Wednesday, he’ll play in that regardless of whether he gets minutes this weekend because we need to get him playing. “He’s training really well, he’s a lovely guy who wants to ask questions and get better – and he keeps hitting the back of the net in the training. “As coaching staff we’re looking forward to seeing him out there but what we don’t know is how quickly he’ll get up to the intensity of the Championship. It’s OK playing in training games but it’s also about how you cope with me screaming at him to get back and chase the opposition full back! He has to be able to do that as well. “But he’s very talented, and he’s got a wand of a left foot with real power in it. He’s very dynamic, quick, fast. There’s nothing stopping him being a really good player and hopefully he can put that onto the pitch at first-team level.” Photo: Frank Reid
