Two promotion candidates face each other in League One on Tuesday evening, as Birmingham City travel to the Toughsheet Community Stadium to play Bolton Wanderers.
The Blues are the runaway leaders in the division, and they extended their lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 win at home to their nearest challengers, Wycombe Wanderers, at the weekend.
Match preview
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The visitors are now 12 points clear at the top of the division, and they are firing on all fronts this year, as they have both a seemingly inevitable return to the Championship and a trip to Wembley in the EFL Trophy final to look forward to in the coming months.
Birmingham's win over the Chairboys strengthened their already incredible record at home in League One, with the Blues still unbeaten on their own patch in the division this season in 17 games.
They have hardly put a foot wrong in the division following their relegation from the Championship last season, and the Blues have only lost twice all season, with both defeats coming on their travels.
The last of those defeats came all the way back in November, and the visitors are currently enjoying an 18-match unbeaten streak in League One.
The triumph against Wycombe on Saturday marked the 16th clean sheet of the campaign for goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, as well as a 17th of the season for his club, as Birmingham continued their incredible defensive record this season.
They have the best defence in the league by some distance, as the Blues have the most clean sheets in the division, and they also have conceded the least amount of goals in League One.
Having already beaten one promotion rival at the weekend, they will look to defeat another one on Tuesday evening, as they face a Bolton side that are sitting just outside the playoff zone.
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They continued their positive start to life under Steven Schumacher with a goalless draw away to third-placed Wrexham on Saturday.
The Trotters have won three of their five league matches under his guidance, with their only defeat coming against Reading in his first game in charge.
The draw in Wales was also a sign of their improvement under Schumacher, as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wrexham in the EFL Trophy just over a fortnight ago, but they managed a better result at the weekend to help maintain their promotion hopes.
Bolton are not used to blanking in front of goal, with Schumacher's side currently the third-highest scoring side in the division, having netted only two fewer goals than their visitors on Tuesday.
However, their defence has conceded 49 times so far this season, and up against one of the strongest attacks in the division, this clash will be a massive test of Bolton's backline.
Indeed, Saturday's draw with Wrexham was the only clean sheet that the hosts have kept under Schumacher's guidance, with the Trotters failing to keep a clean sheet of their last six matches in all competitions prior to the weekend's stalemate.
Not so long ago, Tuesday night's clash would have been a Premier League fixture, so the fact that it is taking place in League One highlights the fall of both clubs in more recent times.
However, both are hoping to be back in the Championship next season, and Birmingham appear to be well on their way, while Bolton could still yet join them.
After missing out on promotion in the playoff final last season, Bolton made going up a priority this season, and that was why Schumacher ended up replacing Ian Evatt midway through the season, as the Trotters looked like they might not even reach the playoffs under their old boss.
Having already secured four points from a possible six against fellow promotion contenders Leyton Orient and Wrexham in their last two matches, the hosts could make it seven out of a possible nine from three tricky fixtures on the bounce.
A win here would be a result that would give the hosts real belief that they could seal promotion this time around after last year's playoff final heartache against Oxford United.
However, they will have to put in a much better performance on Tuesday than they did in their last meeting back in October, as the Trotters fell to a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at St. Andrew's.
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Team News
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The hosts were boosted by the return of Carlos Mendes Gomes at the weekend, as he came off the bench following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.
In further good news for Bolton boss Schumacher, Chris Forino-Joseph is continuing to make good progress with his recovery from a hamstring injury, as he has featured in recent matches for the club's B team.
However, Victor Adeboyejo and Kyle Dempsey are both expected to miss this clash for the hosts due to knee injuries.
Meanwhile, the visitors could have Marc Leonard back in the squad following his return to training, having been out for three weeks with a knee injury.
Elsewhere, Jay Stansfield (leg) and Keshi Anderson (hamstring) are both doubts for this match, while Scott Wright (knee), Lyndon Dykes (calf) and Lee Buchanan remain long-term absentees for the visitors.
In more disappointing news for the Blues, Ethan Laird (hamstring) and their goalkeeper Allsop (ankle) both limped off during the win over Wycombe at the weekend, and they are serious doubts for this match.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Murphy, Johnston, Forrester, Cogley; Osei-Tutu, Sheehan, Morley, Schon; Collins, McAtee
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Sampsted, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik, Dowell, Willumsson, Gardner-Hickman; May
We say: Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Birmingham City
Birmingham are on a roll, and look like they are capable of beating anyone in League One at the moment.
Bolton have improved under Schumacher and will not be an easy test for the Blues, but we do expect the visitors to edge past them in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
