Darren Carter
Ex-Birmingham midfielder on BBC Radio WM

I'm not surprised Crawley have tried the long ball a few times already. They look really comfortable in their shape and on the ball.

A good atmosphere inside Broadfield Stadium tonight - boosted by the large numbers from the West Midlands.

Home fans have been a bit starved of success this year with only Burton and Shrewsbury producing fewer than their 11 points.

This is a first EFL meeting between these sides.

The only previous game was an EFL Cup tie which Birmingham won 5-1 back in 2017.

Crawley have already been forced to clear away an early Blues corner.

Off we go then - Crawley out of the drop zone or Birmingham top of the lot?

We've got 90 minutes to find out.

Image source, Rex Features

When Birmingham City smashed the third tier transfer record by handing Fulham £10m for the services of Jay Stansfield at the end of August you can only imagine the pressure foisted on the 22-year-old's shoulders.

With a big price tag comes big responsibility and Stansfield has taken it on with aplomb - hitting nine goals in his past 10 appearances and with 12 in total for the season (13 if you include the one scored for Fulham against Birmingham in the EFL Cup just three days before he made the switch).

In saying all that about Blues' record breaker they are far from a one man team and you would think boast more than enough firepower to get the job done this season with the likes of Alfie May and Keshi Anderson, not to mention Lyndon Dykes.

If it does start to get a bit messy for Birmingham they do have owners with deep pockets and the January transfer window is just around the corner...

Image source, Getty Images

When Crawley Town were taken over by US cryptocurrency investment company WAGMI United in 2022 there were many doubters predicting disaster.

When Crawley Town gave managers Kevin Betsy and Matthew Etherington just five months between them there were many doubters predicting disaster.

When Crawley Town appointed Scott Lindsey as their new boss after he had hardly lit up things at Swindon there were many doubters predicting disaster.

When Crawley Town just avoided relegation from the EFL and allowed their best players to leave there were many doubters predicting disaster.

When Crawley Town won promotion from League Two last season and promptly saw eight of their starting Xl from the play-off final win over Crewe depart there were many doubters predicting disaster.

When Crawley Town's promotion winning manager Scott Lindsey left to drop back to League Two and takeover at MK Dons in September there were many doubters predicting disaster.

Victory tonight for Crawley Town will take them out of the League One relegation zone - the doubters may remain but this is a club not afraid to do things differently.

Image source, Rex Features

Crawley's Rob Elliot and Chris Davies of Birmingham are young head coaches making decent names for themselves having come through very different routes.

Former Charlton and Newcastle United goalkeeper Elliot had the unenviable task of replacing Crawley's promotion winning boss Scott Lindsey in October but a solid record behind him at Gateshead perhaps made the two division jump a little easier.

The 38-year-old had taken Gateshead to FA Trophy glory last season and, but for ground issues might have brought them into the EFL via the National League play-offs.

Twenty-six wins from his 49 games in charge of The Heed convinced Crawley he was the right man and while his reign may have started with three successive league defeats, victories over Lincoln, Rotherham and Charlton have kept them in touch with a chance to climb out of the relegation zone this evening.

When Chris Davies had to call time on his professional playing career at the age of just 19 due to a foot issue he immediately turned his attentions to coaching and studying for his UEFA licences while also completing a Sports Science degree.

Successful coaching stints under Brendan Rodgers at Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic and Leicester were a good training ground for his entry into senior management.

A subsequent spell with Ange Postecoglu at Tottenham persuaded Birmingham he was the man to put an end to their managerial revolving door and with 19 wins from 26 games this season they may be right.

Image source, BBC Sport

It was a good weekend for Crawley Town, without even kicking a ball.

Only Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers avoided defeat in the bottom six meaning a Red Devils win tonight will lift them out of the relegation zone ahead of their trip to Leyton Orient on Boxing Day.

Image source, BBC Sport

As you can see there wasn't much movement among the top clubs in League One at the weekend so the equation is pretty simple for Birmingham City tonight.

A Blues win means they'll be top of the tree at Christmas, anything less will give the rest of the challengers plenty of encouragement going into the busy festive period.

Image source, Rex Features

The last round of League One fixtures before Christmas finally comes to an end tonight but Crawley and Birmingham will not have minded watching what happened while they were preparing for their meeting.

Leaders Wycombe Wanderers were held to a goalless draw by Bolton Wanderers on Friday night which handed Wrexham an outside chance to go top but they conceded a late equaliser at struggling Bristol Rovers.

Huddersfield Town and Stockport County were able to move closer to the automatic promotion places with victories over Cambridge United and Peterborough United respectively.

Lincoln City's 2-0 win over Reading allowed them to swap places with their opponents in the play-off spots.

Burton Albion were beaten at home by Exeter and while Shrewsbury fought back from 2-0 down to get a point at Wigan, Crawley remain well clear of the bottom two and a couple of points better off than Cambridge United who suffered that 4-0 hammering at home to Huddersfield.

Northampton Town will drop into the relegation zone if Crawley can win tonight.

The Cobblers appointed Kevin Nolan as their new manager today but have lost four of their past five league games.

Image source, Opta

Crawley Town make two changes from the side beaten 4-3 at Peterborough nine days ago.

Captain Dion Conroy is back for his first appearance and start since pre-season. Harry Forster is the other change with Ronan Darcy dropping to the bench while Joy Mukuena misses out altogether

If it ain't broke don't fix it is the Birmingham City mantra and they go with the same side which started their 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

Image source, Opta

We were due to kick off in just over 10 minutes but Crawley have announced the start has been put back to 20:15 GMT.

This is because of a medical emergency in the crowd.

It goes without saying we hope it isn't anything too serious for those involved.

Image source, PA Media

Hopefully you're joining us with a smug smile of satisfaction on your face this evening with the Christmas shopping done, the wrapping all, well, wrapped up and the final cards through the neighbours' letterboxes.

If that's not the case, there's always tomorrow to worry about that because we've got issues at the top and bottom of League One to deal with tonight.

Birmingham City have the chance to be top of the Christmas charts with a win while victory for Crawley Town will mean the Turkey will go down a lot easier with them outside the relegation zone.

Let's get this show on the road...