Birmingham City v Bristol Rovers
Sky Bet League One, St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, Saturday 14 December, 3:00pm
Bristol Rovers return to action after an 11-day absence when they travel to Birmingham City on Saturday in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas were looking to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat to Leyton Orient when they were scheduled to host Bolton Wanderers last weekend. However, the game was postponed for safety reasons after the effects of Storm Darragh had brought an increased, significant threat to the safety of all due to attend.
Rovers are in 17th position in the third tier and have four fixtures left to play in 2024, with three being away from The Memorial Stadium.
Birmingham came from behind to beat Barnsley 2-1 at Oakwell, with record-signing Jay Stanfield scoring twice to overturn an earlier own goal from Paik Seung-Ho.
Tickets...
Tickets are no longer available for the fixture, and there will not be an option to pay on the day. The Gas is coming well supported, with over 1800 tickets sold.
Travel...
By car, take the M32 from Bristol towards the M4. Merge onto the M5 north, then move over to the M6. Continue on the M6, taking the exit for the A4540 toward Birmingham City Center. Follow signs for the A34 and then A470. Use local streets to reach St. Andrew's Stadium on St. Andrew's Road.
By train, Bordesley Station is approximately 0.7 miles away from the stadium, which takes approximately 12 minutes to walk.
Opposition...
Birmingham are playing in the third tier for the first time since 1995 after being relegated from the Championship last season. Early favourites for promotion, the Blues’ win over Barnsley on the weekend put them one point behind Wycombe Wanderers and Wrexham, who are level on points at the top of the table.
Chris Davies' side have won 12 of their 17 league outings this season, including eight of their nine opening matches, only losing twice to Charlton Athletic and Shrewsbury Town.
Birmingham were active in the summer transfer window to try and gain an immediate return to the Championship and brought in Stanfield, smashing the League One transfer record to bring in the striker from Fulham.
He was their 17th addition of the window, with the Blues also making several other impressive additions. Alfie May moved from Charlton after netting 23 goals in the third-tier last term, and Christoph Klarer switched from SV Darmstadt 98 after playing in the Bundesliga.
Previous Meetings...
Rovers have a difficult record against Birmingham. The Gas are winless in their last 13 meetings with the Blues, with their last victory coming back in 1980.
The previous meeting between the two teams came back in 2015, with the Pirates losing 2-1 at The Memorial Stadium in the EFL Cup.
Officials...
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Assistant Referees: Thomas Cooke and Marc Wilson
Fourth Official: William Davis
