Chris Davies will be sweating ahead of Birmingham City's match v Pompey for one clear reason | OneFootball

Blues must address their rather patchy form as soon as possible

Birmingham City's recent run of patchy form continued on Saturday, as Chris Davies' men suffered a second defeat in three games following the October international break at the hands of Bristol City.

Despite the fact Ashton Gate has largely been a happy hunting ground of late for Blues, their mixed and frustrating start to the season was summed up by a tepid 90-minute display in the West Country that saw them ruthlessly exposed once more through Sinclair Armstrong's neat finish past James Beadle on the stroke of half-time.

The fortunes of Davies' side have been analysed to the nth degree across the opening two-and-a-half months of the Championship campaign, with expectation levels at an all-time high as a result of well-publicised off-pitch developments and a continued raft of high-profile signings.

However, it is glaringly obvious that the vast majority of those who came through the door at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park during a hectic pre-season period have, so far, failed to adjust to life in the West Midlands on the pitch, with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, in particular, prime examples of this, with the Japanese international failing to hit the heights many expected in front of goal based off his previous exploits with Celtic.

Owner, Tom Wagner, has - rightly or wrongly - been extremely vocal when discussing multiple facets of the club. However, his stance regarding Davies' long-term future in B9 has remained unchanged in recent weeks and months, regardless of the fact the Second City outfit have won just twice since the end of the summer transfer window.

As such, pressure on the 40-year-old intensified, and he will certainly hope it eases once more after the visit of Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.

Chris Davies' Birmingham City position has recently become jeopardised

As previously mentioned, Wagner outlined his stance on Davies' position ahead of the recent 1-1 draw with Wrexham in North Wales, telling Sky Sports: "I think it’s probably a bit of luck, probably a bit of new players coming into the squad and getting adjusted to the way Chris wants to play, recognising that no one stands still so some adjustments needed to be made.

"Chris has the complete and total confidence of the board. Period. Full stop.

"We are focused on process and I am confident the process he is pursuing will pay dividends and we will be competitors. The vast majority of people understand that," he added.

Since then, Blues' return to action has yielded three points from nine, with a resolute 1-0 success at Preston North End sandwiched between defeats against Hull City - in rather controversial fashion - and the aforementioned Robins.

Football Insider have since reported that Davies has a handful of matches to make his job fully secure once again, as well as claiming that former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss, Gary O'Neil, could be in the frame to replace him should Wagner go against his previous word.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat in BS3 was a fifth of the season for Blues, with four of those coming on the road and without reply.

The end statistics hardly helped Davies' cause, as despite having 71.5% of the ball, Blues only mustered one attempt on target from 13 throughout the 90 minutes, further echoing the lack of creativity which is currently running through the side, despite the high-quality options at his disposal.

Chris Davies needs to see a Birmingham City reaction vs Portsmouth

Only once this season have Birmingham responded to a setback with a success in the following game, which came at Deepdale on October 21st.

Davies has to see an imminent response from his side after a lacklustre display last time out, and one where the defensive mishaps from their recent 3-2 defeat against Hull are also wiped out, with Pompey also capable of hurting Blues on the break, with players such as John Swift and Yang Min-hyeok in form, whilst Josh Murphy is fit enough to start at St. Andrew's after a brief injury absence.

Both sides have the 15th-best home and away records ahead of Saturday's encounter, which makes it all the more intriguing when assessing who, out of Davies and fellow highly-rated boss, John Mousinho, will come out on top.

Blues and Pompey also rank within the bottom five in terms of goals per match, meaning a rather cagey encounter could be in store.

After recent matches, the majority of Bluenoses and Davies would certainly take a scrappy affair in which they emerge 1-0 victors at the beginning of yet another three-game week ahead of the November international break.

Pompey have proven to be no pushovers on their travels, though, earning draws at West Bromwich Albion, Southampton and Leicester City on top of a solitary away success at Oxford United on the opening day.