James starts: The predicted Birmingham City XI to play Reading on Tuesday night

Birmingham City will be confident of winning three points tomorrow night as they travel to the Select Car Leasing Stadium to face Championship rivals Reading, in search of what would be another valuable three points.

They may not have been able to win all three points against Stoke City at the weekend, but a point at the bet365 Stadium is certainly an impressive one on paper and manager Lee Bowyer will see that as another small step closer to survival.

After several shrewd recruitment decisions by Bowyer and Technical Director Gary Gardner since their time at the helm, they will want to set their sights a little higher than just securing their second-tier status for next term.

However, a push for the top six looks unlikely at this stage, though there won’t be any shortage of excitement at St Andrew’s between now and the end of the season with some of their January signings already making a real impact in the West Midlands.

They may not have been involved in November’s reverse fixture, but revenge and redemption will certainly be on the agenda in this tie with teenager Jahmari Clarke’s brace separating the two sides earlier in the season.

Who will be tasked with the challenge of securing the away win this midweek though? We have predicted the starting lineup Blues boss Bowyer will opt with ahead of tomorrow evening’s meeting.

Neil Etheridge will be glad to get an opportunity to shine once again following Matija Sarkic’s injury and recall and looks set to remain between the sticks for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, barring any injuries or suspensions.

Unfortunately for the Blues, there are no guarantees Teden Mengi will return to the starting lineup after missing training all of last week, a setback that has only