Birmingham City

Birmingham City are not pursuing a move for Al-Hilal striker Alexander Mitrovic despite being linked with the former Fulham forward. (Birmingham Live), external

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Birmingham City striker Jay Stansfield believes their dramatic late win at Blackburn Rovers underlines the strength in depth in their squad.

Ethan Laird came off the bench to win the 90th-minute penalty, which Stansfield converted, and it was another substitute, Lyondon Dykes, who added the stoppage-time winner.

"Unbelievable players are sitting on the bench and that just shows the strength of this team and what we can deliver," Stansfield told BBC Radio WM.

"I thought the game was over (after the penalty), I didn't realise there was 11 minutes added on and as soon as we saw the board we knew momentum was with us.

"Our fitness, our energy our togetherness, the gaffer says we're the big blue machine and we saw that in the last few minutes of the game."

He added: "When we're chasing the game that's when big players need to step up and that's what I enjoy doing, it's what I thrive off.

"My heart was racing when I put the ball down on the penalty spot and you look up and see all these people that have travelled and think I don't want to let them down. I know what I'm good at and penalties is one of those things."

Having taken four points from their opening two games, Birmingham will be at home to Oxford United on Saturday.

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham boss Chris Davies was delighted to see his side recover from a goal down to beat Blackburn at Ewood Park, the Blues' first win since returning to the second tier.

"It is a massive three points," Davies told BBC Radio West Midlands.

"I thought we were the better team throughout the game, we were looking solid and didn't give much away.

"I thought the game would open up in the second half, but to come from a goal down with five minutes to go away from home and win it is something pretty special.

"We are not conceding a lot of territory and chances, we are looking really strong in these games.

"I nearly made the changes earlier, but I thought we had creativity on the pitch, so I let the boys grow back into the game, and I was pleased with how we played the game and the contribution of the guys who came on.

"The desire of our team in the final few minutes was what I loved. We were bursting forward and when the game opened up we ran and ran."

Birmingham are set to battle Derby and QPR for the signing of £5m-rated Japanese midfielder Koki Saito, 24, who spent time on loan at the R's last season from Belgian club Lommel. (Mike McGrath, external)

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Blackburn Rovers manager Valerien Ismael has said he would allow club captain Lewis Travis to leave for the right price but insisted he would still play for Rovers as they face promoted side Birmingham City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Blues will be looking for a first win in their return to the second tier after victory was snatched away from them in the embers of the opening-night 1-1 draw with Ipswich.

• Blackburn Rovers have lost just two of their past 38 home league games against Birmingham City (W25 D11), winning each of their past four in succession, during which they have scored 15 goals in total.

• Birmingham City have won two of their past three league games against Blackburn Rovers (L1), as many victories as across their prior 16 matches against Rovers combined (D6 L8).

• Blackburn have won their opening home game in each of the past five league seasons. However, following their 1-0 opening-day loss at West Bromwich Albion, they will be hoping to avoid beginning a league campaign with back-to-back defeats, which last happened in 2019-20.

• Birmingham have not lost their opening away game in any of the past six seasons (W3 D3) since losing 1-0 at Middlesbrough in the Championship in 2018-19.

• Birmingham's Keshi Anderson won more duels than any other player (14) on the second tier's opening weekend, with the last Blues player to win more in the Championship being Ethan Laird against Swansea in August 2023 (21).

Image source, Rex Features

Birmingham City's 2-1 win over Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup was further evidence the rejuvenated club is proving it is "ready for anything", says defender Ethan Laird.

Wednesday's deserved first-round victory over the Blades came after Blues boss Chris Davies made six changes from the side that were denied a win in their opening Championship match in the final minute by Ipswich Town.

Full-back Laird was one of the players who came in and he told BBC Radio WM it is vital Davies does not see any drop in performance or reliability when he rotates his squad.

"That's the plan. For us to be a trophy-winning squad, we have to be ready for anything," Laird said.

"The gaffer needs to be able to just switch in and switch out, but the reason why we are that good is because we have squad depth.

"We're pushing each other, the competitiveness, and when someone needs to take a break, someone comes in who will do a job."

Birmingham's high press was again on show against Sheffield United and led to their opening goal - and a first for Blues - by Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi.

Laird said the effort it takes to play the way Davies demands is a lot but the rewards are worth it.

"Every game is going to be a motivational slog - we have to keep doing it game after game because the way we play is hard," he said.

"Pressing to score is a hard thing to do. Not many teams press the way we do, but it's what we do and what we believe in. So we have to keep that motivation.

"That's the way we want to play football and there's a good feeling from all the players when we're on the pitch and we just need to keep showing our fight and quality."

Montpellier's French winger Tanguy Coulibaly has caught the eye of Birmingham City. (Mohamed Toubache-Ter via X), external

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Image source, Rex Features

Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies says he was delighted with how his team performed on their Championship return.

Only a controversial injury-time penalty from Ipswich Town's George Hirst - which Davies called " really, really harsh" prevented Blues from claiming a deserved victory in their 1-1 draw.

Having clocked up a staggering 111 points on their way to winning League One last season, Davies' side showed for large periods that they can trouble the very best in the second tier this campaign.

"Tonight was about the performance and how to handle the occasion," said Davies. "I thought we were the better team, we dominated the match and deserved to win.

"There was a lot to like. We've retained our identity, not just stylistically, but the spirit and the fight we had last season."

"The amount of new managers coming into the league this year, I have never seen anything like it".

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by special guests Tommy Smith and Alex Bruce to preview the 2025-26 Championship season.

They discuss a range of topics including assessing chances of sides coming down from the Premier League, who the contenders might be for the top six and take a deep dive of each of the sides promoted from League One.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ and more on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Nottingham Forest captain Terry Hennessey has died at the age of 82.

Hennessey made over 159 appearances for Forest between 1965 and 1970, earning 39 caps for Wales over the span of a decade.

The club said in a statement: "Everyone sends their condolences to Mr. Hennessey's family and friends at this extremely difficult time."

Hennessey began his career with Birmingham, where he made 178 appearances and won the League Cup in 1963.

After leaving the City Ground he joined Derby County and won the First Division title under Brian Clough in 1972.

The 2025-26 Championship season kicks-off on Friday (20:00 BST) with a mammoth game between promotion favourites Birmingham City and Ipswich Town.

The Blues are first to host in this year's campaign after a record-breaking spell in League One last season.

Meanwhile, Ipswich will be seeking a big win as they look to bounce right back into the Premier League after just one season in the top tier.

• Three of the last four league matches between Birmingham and Ipswich have ended in draws, with the Tractor Boys winning the other 3-1 in February 2024, the most recent meeting between the sides.

• Ipswich Town have won one of their last 19 away league matches against Birmingham (D8 L10), a 1-0 victory in the 2012-13 campaign in Mick McCarthy's first game in charge.

• Birmingham won the 2024-25 League One title with 34 wins and 111 points, both all-time records in a single season in Football League history. The Blues didn't lose a single home league game and are unbeaten in 25 overall (W21 D4), only having a longer unbeaten home run between October 1970 and April 1972 (36 games).

• Ipswich Town picked up just 22 points in the Premier League in 2024-25 (W4 D10 L24), their lowest ever in a single league season in their history. In 2025, only Southampton (6) have picked up fewer points than the Tractor Boys (7) among sides in the top four tiers of English football, while they also have the joint worst defensive record (49 goals conceded, level with Mansfield).

• This is the second time Birmingham are playing Ipswich at home in their first league game of the season. The other time was a 3-1 win in 1995-96 – when the Blues were newly promoted to the second tier, and Ipswich had just come down from the Premier League.