Birmingham City come into this Good Friday fixture off the back of a 3-0 defeat against an impressive Watford at Vicarage Road with Ken Sema, Nathaniel Chalobah and Andre Gray all on the scoresheet.

Blues showed plenty of positives against good opposition in Lee Bowyer's first away game in charge, but defeat, combined with Rotherham United's 2-1 victory against Bristol City, left his side looking nervously over their shoulder going into the international break, with the relegation gap closed to just three points. 

Swansea City come into this fixture off the back of two consecutive defeats, with the Swans' latest loss coming in a 1-0 defeat against Welsh rivals Cardiff City at the Liberty Stadium, with Aden Flint scoring the game's only goal.

Steve Cooper's automatic promotion push has faltered in recent weeks, with his side falling six points adrift of second-placed Watford. Swansea will look to bounce back from Derby Day defeat with a much-needed victory to reinstate their automatic promotion ambitions. 

  • Team news

Having been rested for Blues' two previous outings, Iván Sánchez may return to the fold as Jonathan Leko looks to keep the Spaniard out of the starting 11 with his recent promising performances. Steve Seddon impressed in action for the Birmingham City U23's in their victory against Cardiff City last week, as the left-back pushes for his first start of the season. 

For Swansea, Ben Cabango is in line to replace Marc Guehi, who has featured heavily for England Under-21s at the European Championships. Irish midfielder Conor Hourihane is also a major doubt due to a hamstring injury, and Andre Ayew also faces a late fitness test.

  • Predicted lineups

Birmingham City: Etheridge; Colin, Roberts, Dean, Seddon; Sanchez, Gardner, Harper, Bela; Jutkiewicz, Hogan.

Swansea City: Woodman; Naughton, Bennett, Cabango; Roberts, Fulton, Grimes, Bidwell; Dhanda; Ayew, Whittaker.

  • Ones to watch

Birmingham City: Rekeem Harper

Since arriving on loan from West Brom in January, Harper has provided a new dynamic spark to the midfield, with his ability to not only tackle, but to carry the ball into forward areas with excellent composure and sometimes even flair.

The 21-year-old has featured in 12 games since his arrival, playing in the centre and providing that missing link which has held Blues back previously this season. If Birmingham are to emerge with anything in this game, Harper will have a major part to play. 

Swansea City: Matt Grimes

Grimes has been a reliable figure in Swansea's midfield this season, featuring in all but one league game this season for the Swans, scoring twice and assisting three times.

Swansea are about to enter the run-in, a majorly important time of the season and with back-to-back defeats, the players will look to their captain to provide the leadership to steer Swansea in the right direction, looking to keep their Premier League dreams alive. 

  • Previous meetings

The previous meeting between the two sides produced a scoreless draw in September, with one of the more notable meetings in recent history coming in a 3-3 draw at the Liberty Stadium in 2019, with Oli McBurnie's 94th minute goal saving a point for the Swans.

  • How to watch

The game will be available to watch at 8pm on Friday on Sky Sports Football. 

  • Manager quotes

In the build-up to Friday's game, Birmingham head coach Bowyer said: "We will compete, and try to win the game.

"Swansea are a good team who have good players that can hurt you, but if you stop those good players from doing what they can then it evens it out. We have to make it tough for them."

Swansea head coach Cooper said: ''Our next two games are going to be against new management. We’ve got to manage that ourselves.

"New managers coming in does have a bounce and that’s going to be part of the challenge on Friday. They’re an experienced team and in the two games, they had a good result against Reading.''

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