Birmingham City set for freak attendance as supercomputer makes League One prediction

Jay Stansfield won't feature for Birmingham City against Shrewsbury after being called up for international duty by England under-21s
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Sell-outs have become the norm for Birmingham City this season, whether that’s at St Andrew’s or on the road, and Chris Davies’ team will be backed by another travelling army at Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday.

Blues have sold out their allocation of 3,159 for the Bristol Street Motors Trophy match. That is a quite extraordinary effort for a group stage fixture in a competition that is maligned by fans of most clubs.

To put it into context, Shrewsbury’s post-Covid attendances in the EFL Trophy at The Croud Meadow haven’t exceeded 1,635. That number turned up in September 2022 to watch Shrewsbury get battered 4-0 by Port Vale. Only 1,206 watched Shrewsbury fall to a 2-1 defeat to Fulham’s under-21s in August.

Blues are in danger of exiting the competition in the group stages and really could do with a win against Shrewsbury. They are currently third in the table after a 1-1 draw with Walsall in their first group match and still have to play Fulham U21s.

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The biggest attendance in this season’s competition came at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park last month. A crowd of 9,752 watched Blues take on Walsall in B9.

Davies could be without 11 senior players due to international call-ups and injuries. Fringe stars such as Ben Davies, Marc Leonard and Ayumu Yokoyama are all in line to feature against Shrewsbury.

Anyone for promotion?

Not with 100 points and 100 goals, but the Gosvenor Sport supercomputer has predicted that Blues will win League One by a nose. Blues fell to their first league defeat at the weekend at Charlton Athletic nine games into the season.

The loss at The Valley did little to dampen the spirits of Blues fans. The team is very much on track to win promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt.

The supercomputer has Blues coming out on top after 46 games with 91 points, ahead of second-placed Huddersfield Town on goal difference. Stockport County have been tipped to win the play-off final at Charlton’s expense.

Jonno: Stansfield has what it takes

Jay Stansfield is playing a leading role in Blues’ quest to return to the Championship. The striker has netted three goals in his first five Blues appearances.

Blues legend Michael Johnson has crossed paths with England under-21 international Stansfield in his work with The FA and believes the striker can cope with the pressure that’s on him this season.

Johnson told the Keep Right On Podcast: “I worked with him at the 20s and then quite quickly he moved up to the 21s for an opportunity. He’s got a little bit of spice in him, and you want that, you don’t want somebody who doesn’t come with an edge as long as it’s controlled.

“What he is though is a fantastic finisher. I can see from afar that the Blues fans have taken him to heart and Chris Davies clearly thinks he’s in for a bright future.

“I’m sure he has the belief in himself and he will be expecting to deliver. The price tag is the price tag. I think a lot of Chris, he’s a top manager, a top coach and a top guy and I’m sure with somebody like that around him he will be able to deliver.”

Player of the Month nominations

Speaking of Stansfield, the 21-year-old has been nominated for the PFA Player of the Month award for September. The striker netted three goals in three games in September.

Tomoki Iwata has also been nominated for the award after scoring in his first two games for Blues and registering an assist in his third to set up Krystian Bielik's winner against Peterborough United.

Blackpool duo Kyle Joseph and CJ Hamilton, Charlton’s Lloyd Jones and Mansfield Town striker Lee Gregory have also been nominated.