Burnley will be looking to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship standings when they play host to Birmingham City on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, Birmingham make the trip to Turf Moor with the opportunity to solidify their spot in the top half of the table.

Match preview

Given the manner of Burnley's defeat to Sheffield United before the World Cup break, Vincent Kompany may have had concerns regarding the capabilities of his squad bouncing back immediately.

However, the Belgian need not have done, with the Clarets scoring three goals in each of their victories over Blackburn Rovers, Queens Park Rangers and Middlesbrough.

Even though Burnley had to come from behind in the latter of those encounters, Kompany would have viewed it as a positive as they bid to hold off Sheffield United and retain hold of top spot.

Even though automatic promotion is the aim, Burnley are playing with such a swagger and belief that they should be targeting first place, especially now they sit eight points clear of third.

The North-West outfit also impressed in defeat to Manchester United in the EFL Cup earlier this week, a result which should not have a negative impact on their league duties.

Having not recorded back-to-back wins since the middle of October, some of the excitement regarding a surprise promotion bid among the Birmingham fanbase has been lost.

Nevertheless, even with just three wins from nine games, Blues somehow remain in ninth place and just seven points adrift of Blackburn Rovers in third spot.

Birmingham beat Reading by a 3-2 scoreline last time out, avoiding a scare as their opponents netted twice in the closing stages, but John Eustace knows that points on the board are more important than conceding twice when the game should have remained over as a contest.

Eustace has also witnessed his side collect four points from their last two away games, a return which gives them hope ahead of a meeting with opponents who are yet to taste defeat at Turf Moor during 2022-23.

Team News

Barring any injury issues arising from the defeat at Man United, Kompany could opt to name an unchanged side from the previous league fixture.

Anass Zaroury should come back into contention after representing Morocco at the World Cup, but the playmaker will likely be selected among the replacements alongside Scott Twine.

Scott Hogan should return to the Birmingham squad, but the club's top goalscorer may have to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench.

George Friend and Gary Gardner are also pushing to feature, although Eustace may wish to name an unchanged starting lineup.

Harlee Dean and George Hall remain absent for the Blues for this fixture.

Burnley possible starting lineup:
Muric; Roberts, Harwood-Bellis, Beyer, Maatsen; Cullen, Cork; Manuel, Brownhill, Gudmundsson; Rodriguez

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Sanderson, Roberts, Trusty; Colin, Bacuna, Bielik, Mejbri, Longelo; Deeney, Chong

We say: Burnley 1-1 Birmingham City

With an unbeaten home record such as Burnley's, we expect that to be extended to 13 matches versus inconsistent opponents. However, we feel that Birmingham will rise to the occasion in front of the television cameras, emerging with a hard-earned share of the spoils.

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