Birmingham City play host to Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon looking to build on their early-season form which sees them sit in seventh position in the Championship table.
Rotherham make the trip to St Andrew's with just one league victory to their name this season, but it came last weekend at home to Cardiff City.
Birmingham City
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Birmingham began the season with an unbeaten streak spanning seven games, but they welcome Rotherham to St Andrew's without a win in three outings.
However, things are far from negative in the West Midlands, and for the first time in a number of years, Birmingham possess a manager who is being unanimously backed by the club's supporters after compiling a solid squad on a shoe-string budget.
Gary Rowett will be disappointed with earning just a point from games against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town, but his side showed against Aston Villa in the League Cup on Tuesday night that they have both the ability and togetherness to become a force in the Championship this season.
Their strike-rate in front of goal may be a small concern - they have only scored more than two goals in a match just once in 10 attempts - but sitting in seventh position with a game in hand is probably beyond Rowett's expectations at this stage of the season.
Forward Clayton Donaldson continues to be one of the Blues' most impressive performers this season, but with just a 31-minute hat-trick against Bristol City to his name, his goal return needs to improve over the next few games.
Recent form: DDWWLD
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLDL
Rotherham United
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Over recent weeks, manager Steve Evans has spoken of his satisfaction with the effort and commitment that his players have put into their performances this season, despite just one win being recorded in nine games in all competitions.
However, Rotherham finally got some reward for their work-rate last weekend as they registered a 2-1 victory over Cardiff City to haul themselves back towards the clubs at the bottom end of the standings.
The Millers still remain last on goal difference, and two points from 21st place, but the triumph has boosted morale at the New York Stadium and the pre-season favourites for relegation now sense an opportunity to claw their way up towards mid-table.
Rotherham's failure to keep a clean sheet since August 18 is an issue for Evans, but his biggest worry is in attack, with just Johnson Clarke-Harris contributing goals on a regular basis.
The 21-year-old has three goals to his name from his last five Championship appearances, but strike partner Matt Derbyshire has not found the back of the net since the opening day of the season, a run stretching nine matches in all competitions.
Recent form: DLLDLW
Recent form (all competitions): LLLDLW
Team News
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Rowett should be able to welcome back David Cotterill after the Welsh winger missed the Villa encounter through injury.
Cotterill, who scored at Ipswich last Friday, could replace Jacques Maghoma, while Jon Toral may earn himself a recall after starting the last two fixtures on the substitutes' bench.
Rotherham chief Evans has a fully-fit squad to choose from, with Lee Frecklington a potential starter after returning to training this week.
Defender Kirk Broadfoot could make his first appearance of the season after sitting out the last 10 games having been found guilty of verbal abuse towards James McClean earlier in the year.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Kuszczak, Caddis, Spector, Morrison, Grounds, Gleeson, Kieftenbeld, Toral, Gray, Cotterill, Donaldson
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Camp, Buxton, Rawson, Collins, Mattock, Odjidja-Ofoe, Smallwood, Newell, Andreu, Derbyshire, Clarke-Harris
Head To Head
In 24 previous meetings between the two sides, Birmingham have emerged victorious on a dozen occasions, with Rotherham registering success just five times.
The Blues are also unbeaten in the nine most recent matches, with Rotherham's last triumph coming all the way back in 1989.
It has also been almost half a century since the Yorkshire outfit beat Birmingham on the road.
We say: Birmingham City 2-1 Rotherham United
Despite their recent results, both sides go into this weekend's encounter having produced some solid performances of late, and that should make for a competitive contest in the Midlands. However, we are backing Birmingham to run out narrow winners against the Millers, who could spend another week at the bottom of the standings.
Darren Plant
