City Go To The Riverside

Blues come back from Portugal and head straight off to Middlesbrough for this Championship game.

City are boosted by a 0-0 draw against Nacional, their first European trip for nigh on 50 years, they will be looking for another tight display from the defence as they set about trying to get a point or three from Boro.

Boro are unbeaten in four games so far this season. Barnsley, Leeds and walsall have all suffered defeats on home soil while Boro's only home game so far was a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth.

This one won't be easy.

'Our performance on Thursday night gave us confidence, but it will be a very tough game on Sunday.

'Middlesbrough are a team that are very much in form and scoring a lot of goals.

'Tony Mowbray is moulding a team into the way he wants them to play.

'I've seen them play this season, as has my first team coach.

'They use the wings and the pitch very well.

'In a couple of games I've seen they've played two wingbacks - Hoyte on one flank and a lad called Bennett on the other flank and certainly Bennett gets forward and plays almost like a winger.

'So, it's a little bit of a different system and whether they'll play it on Sunday I don't know. (official website)

Belgium midfielder Faris Haroun goes straight into the Middlesbrough squad after signing a three-year deal with the club on Thursday.

Tony McMahon is available after serving a one-game ban but full-back Justin Hoyte remains a doubt after suffering a recurrence of his thigh strain.

MIDDLESBROUGH (4-4-2): Ikeme; McMahon, McManus, Bates, Bennett; Williams, Robson, Arca, Bailey; Emnes, McDonald.

Subs: Coyne (gk), Hines, Martin, Smallwood, Haroun.

Scored in all four games so far this season, now has six including a hat trick at Walsall.

Birmingham are without Cameron Jerome (heel), Marlon King (knee) and Nikola Zigic (groin).

Keith Fahey, Morgaro Gomis and Scott Dann have been carrying knocks.

BIRMINGHAM CITY (4-5-1): Myhill; Carr, Caldwell, Davies, Murphy; Burke, Spector, Beausejour, Fahey, Redmond; Rooney.

Subs: Doyle (gk), Dann, Wood, Asante, Hubbins.

34 but still solid

There have been 101 league and cup matches between these clubs; Middlesbrough have won 29, Birmingham 41 and 31 have finished all square.

They last met in the Premier League at St Andrews in December 2007, when Birmingham gained their first points in four outings with the Teesside club.

The winning club has kept a clean sheet in each of their last five league meetings.

1-1

Europa League Th 25Aug 2011 Birmingham v NacionaL

Championship Su 28Aug 2011 Watford v Birmingham

Championship Su 11Sep 2011 Birmingham v Millwall

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