Posh host Birmingham City at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet Championship action.
Peterborough United welcome Lee Bowyer’s Birmingham City to the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet Championship action (3pm) with the biggest crowd since 2019 expected as the Blues will be backed by just under 4,000 supporters.
Darren Ferguson’s men go into the game on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Reading on Tuesday night, while the Blues were beaten 4-1 at home by promotion favourites Fulham 24 hours later. Birmingham have enjoyed a 5-1 away win already this term, Luton Town the team well beaten at Kenilworth Road.
TEAM NEWS
Posh are without the services of skipper Mark Beevers due to a hamstring injury, while teenage front man Ricky-Jade Jones is side-lined with a knee injury. Striker Jack Marriott will undergo a scan on his hamstring on Thursday afternoon with Ferguson fearing he could be spending a long spell on the treatment table.
Summer signing Joel Randall has been ruled out for up to 10 weeks after suffering a thigh injury, but midfielder Jack Taylor is now ready to start matches after working his way back to full fitness following a hamstring injury.
Birmingham strengthened their squad ahead of the transfer deadline with the arrival of experienced front man Troy Deeney and he scored his first goal in that defeat to the Cottagers. Deeney is pushing for a start with Scott Hogan under threat in the starting line-up. Chuks Aneke is another pushing for a berth, but they have good strength in depth in attack.
FROM THE GAFFER
“My job at the moment is to make sure the players keep believing and make sure I keep the standards correct. The players can’t feel sorry for themselves, they need to continue to work hard and if they keep doing that, I am happy to take the pressure off them, take any criticism as I am the manager because I am confident with this group of players things will turn. Lee Bowyer has done a really good job at Birmingham, they had some excellent results against some big clubs last season to stay up and they’ve made a good start this season. They play to their strengths. I am sure that they will want to play in our half and we need to focus on ourselves. It will be a cracking atmosphere, if I was a player, I would want to be playing in these games,” Darren Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
The game is ALL-TICKET for Posh fans. Tickets can be purchased at www.theposhtickets.com or via the Weston Homes Box Office, which is open from 9am until 5pm. Birmingham have sold out their allocation of just under 4,000 and will occupy the Deskgo Stand, as well as the away section of the North Stand.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The match referee is Jarred Gillett.