Birmingham City (H) | Match Preview
The Game
Argyle v Birmingham City. Home Park. Saturday, 23 December. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Birmingham City are on the same number of points as Argyle, with 26 points from 22 games. The two sides even have the same record of seven wins, five draws and ten defeats.
In their last six games, Blues have three defeats, two wins and a draw. The wins came at home to Sheffield Wednesday and on the road at Cardiff. Birmingham's most recent game was on Monday evening, a 3-2 home defeat to leaders Leicester City.
The Gaffer
Wayne Rooney took over at Birmingham in October, replacing John Eustace. It is Rooney's third managerial job, following spells at Derby County and DC United, in the United States.
As a player, Rooney burst on the scene at Everton as a 16-year-old and, aged 18, signed for Manchester United. Rooney would go on to become United's all-time leading goalscorer, netting 253 times for the Red Devil. He is the second-most capped England player of all time, and is the second-highest scorer for the national team.
After leaving United in 2017, Rooney returned briefly to Everton, then headed stateside to play for DC United in the MLS. He later joined Derby as a player-coach, taking over as boss when Philip Cocu left.
The Squad
Siriki Dembele (below), from Côte d'Ivoire, who has five goals to his name this season, having signed in the summer. Once of Grimsby, Dembele moved to Peterborough United, where he stayed for four seasons and was part of the Posh team that were promoted from League One. Dembele moved to Bournemouth, and spent a loan at Auxerre, before heading to St Andrew's.
Midfielder Jordan James, 19, has already played 80 games for Birmingham, where has come through the ranks. James has four goals to his name this season, including both goals from City's 3-2 defeat on Monday. Although English, James has played eight times for Wales.
Krystian Bielik (below) is a fixture in the heart of Birmingham's midfield. Bielik spent a loan spell at St Andrew's when he was 19, and an Arsenal player, and returned for another loan spell for the entirety of the 2022/23 season. He then signed permanently, and has started 20 of Birmingham's 22 league games. He is a Polish international, with 11 caps.
Earlier This Season
The sides met in August, at St Andrew's. Birmingham took the lead thanks to a Scott Hogan goal, but Argyle equalised via Ryan Hardie and looked the most likely side to win, however, Jay Stansfield scored in injury-time to give Birmingham a 2-1 victory.
Tickets
The game is sold out for Argyle supporters.
If you have a season ticket and cannot attend, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s pre-match show, hosted by Erin Black and Marc Edworthy, will begin at 2pm, and is available to watch for free on YouTube.
Domestic supporters can listen to audio commentary on Argyle TV, while international supporters can buy a match pass to watch the game, here. Commentary, live from Home Park, will be provided by Charlie Price and Katie Middleton.
