Birmingham City are 24th in Championship for key stat - Jay Stansfield & Kyogo need to help turn it around | OneFootball

Birmingham City fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Stoke City at the weekend and now possesses an unwanted statistic.

Birmingham City were defeated at the hands of Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium this weekend, losing the fixture 1-0 without registering a shot on target.

After starting the season strongly, collecting seven points from their opening three Championship games and defeating Sheffield United in the League Cup in the process, Birmingham's form has since dropped off.

A 1-0 home defeat to Port Vale in the League Cup followed by a 2-0 away defeat meant the Blues headed into the international break on the back of two consecutive losses, something they had hoped to change as they took on Stoke this weekend.

However, what transpired was bitterly disappointing for Birmingham supporters, who would have been hoping for much more considering the transfer outlay this summer, bringing in the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Demarai Gray, Patrick Roberts and Marvin Ducksch to the club to strengthen their attacking areas.

The Blues failed to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes, and fell to defeat in Staffordshire, with Potters goalkeeper Viktor Johansson enjoying a particularly quiet afternoon.

Birmingham City are bottom of the Championship for shots on target per match

It may be just five games into the season, but Birmingham possess a stat that no team in the Championship will want to have.

According to FotMob, Birmingham have had just 1.8 shots on target per match so far this season, leaving them last in the Championship behind Derby County, pointless Sheffield United and Preston North End in the pecking order.

This will no doubt be a concern for manager Chris Davies, who has invested heavily in his squad's attack this summer after amassing a record 111 points in League One last season.

Meanwhile, top of the table for this statistic is Coventry City, who have averaged an impressive 6.2 shots on target per match this season, which has also coincided with them having scored the most goals in the league this season with 15, three more than second-placed Bristol City.

The Blues averaged 4.6 shots on target per match last season in League One, fourth in the division behind the likes of Barnsley, Stockport County and Blackpool, but they are clearly faltering on their step up back to the second tier.

Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi need support to help to turn unwanted statistic around

In their most recent fixture versus Stoke, Birmingham lined up in a 4-2-3-1, as Jay Stansfield led the line with Gray and Roberts on either flank, with Tommy Doyle playing as the ten.

With the likes of Ducksch, Kyogo, Lewis Koumas and Lyndon Dykes on the bench, it is not like Birmingham are lacking significant attacking quality and options, making it all the more puzzling at their lack of bite in front of goal.

What may be even more surprising is the fact that Kyogo, despite starting four and coming on as a substitute in five Championship games, has yet to register a shot on target this season.

Although he did have a goal ruled out and strike the post in the season opener against Ipswich, the former Celtic forward has struggled to hit the ground running at St. Andrew's following his £10 million move from French club Stade Rennais.

Stansfield has managed just two shots on target in four games, whilst Ducksch, Koumas and Doyle are yet to reigster one.

If Birmingham are to seriously challenge for the promotion places this season, Davies must find a way for his forwards to get off more strikes on goal than what they have managed so far.

Up next for the Blues is an early kick-off against at home to Swansea City on Saturday, where they will hope, being backed from the home fans, they can find more success in front of goal.