Jay Stansfield update emerges ahead of Birmingham City's big clash v Coventry City | OneFootball

Blues could be without their talisman for the upcoming Midlands derby at St. Andrew's

Birmingham City manager Chris Davies is uncertain as to whether Jay Stansfield will be involved when his side welcome league leaders Coventry City to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Sunday lunchtime.

Blues were without their talismanic striker for the New Year's Day trip to Watford, with a dismal showing and 3-0 defeat only adding to the pressure which has been placed onto Davies' shoulders.

Davies' side barely threatened Hornets goalkeeper, Egil Selvik, throughout the 90-plus minutes in Hertfordshire, with Kyogo Furuhashi initially selected to spearhead Blues' attack in front of Willum Willumsson, who operated in the 'number 10' role which Stansfield has so often featured in for the West Midlands side this term.

Thomas Ince's 60-minute hat-trick saw Birmingham register an unwanted sixth defeat in seven matches away from St. Andrew's, as well as extending their current winless run to seven matches, with their last success ironically coming against their most-recent opponents in B9 back on December 1st.

Prior to the return encounter against Javi Gracia's men, it was initially claimed that Davies would have to register positive results against both Derby County and Southampton on home turf, with both games ending in a 1-1 scoreline, whilst it has now been revealed that Stansfield suffered a dead leg in the controversial draw against Tonda Eckert's side on Monday night, which saw him replaced by Liverpool loanee, Lewis Koumas after 69 minutes.

With there now less than 48 hours until kick-off at St. Andrew's against the table-topping Sky Blues, who have also suffered a mini-blip of just two wins in seven games themselves, attention has now turned as to which players will be available to Davies amid a well-documented selection crisis, which currently sees some of his key performers either injured or suspended.

As such, it would be a huge boost if the club-record signing was available for the upcoming West Midlands derby, although whether he will be is uncertain.

Chris Davies drops uncertain Jay Stansfield update ahead of Birmingham City vs Coventry City

Blues are entering the aforementioned clash with the Sky Blues some 16 places and 21 points behind Frank Lampard's side in the Championship table and many will potentially be wondering where any source of goal threat could come from.

Star winger Demarai Gray is sidelined with a calf issue, whilst Kyogo and Marvin Ducksch have failed to have the desired impact since their summer moves from Stade Rennais and Werder Bremen.

Stansfield, unsurprisingly, has become the subject of major talking points ever since his return to Blues on a permanent basis, but has continued to deal with the external pressure, particularly taunts from opposition supporters regarding the eight-figure sum his employers parted with in August 2024.

After scoring 12 times in the division on loan when Birmingham were relegated in 2023/24, the England Under-21 international has already found the net nine times in all competitions across 21 appearances so far this season.

Indeed, the defeat to Watford was only the second match in league and cup which Stansfield has failed to have any form of involvement in, previously missing the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City on August 30th.

As previously mentioned, it would be a timely boost for Davies to welcome back his top scorer immediately. However, the 40-year-old kept his cards close to his chest on that front after the full-time whistle at Vicarage Road, largely down to the quick turnaround between the two fixtures.

“We missed his energy," Davies said. “He got a knock, unfortunately, and was unable to be anywhere near available for the bench.

“It’s a little bit uncertain. We will have to see how he is in the next 48 hours. We’ll have to see how he is tomorrow and the next day.”

Birmingham City will hope for a much-improved showing against Coventry City

Not only will Davies hope for a much-improved showing from his team based off events against the in-form Hornets, it is an opportunity to right the wrongs of their below-par showing against Coventry at the CBS Arena on September 27th.

The 3-0 defeat against the Sky Blues exemplified why Blues have struggled so much away from home this season, although, aside from a stuttering run of three 1-1 draws, their form at St. Andrew's has been rather stellar for just shy of two years now.

Coventry have also shown they are certainly beatable at present, with Lampard also suffering availability issues due to injury and illness, and whilst it is neither side's main rivalry by any stretch, it will no doubt be a fiesty encounter in the Second City this weekend.