Birmingham City<\/a> have a big opportunity to show the Championship<\/a> that they do belong in the promotion picture when Middlesbrough travels to St. Andrew’s on Monday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Heading into this second-tier showdown in the West Midlands, the Blues will feel bruised in their bid to pull off back-to-back promotions, having crashed to a dire 3-0 defeat to Millwall last time out.<\/p>\n Still, the agony of that defeat on the road could be pushed firmly to one side if Chris Davies’ men can get the better of another automatic promotion candidate in Middlesbrough, with a victory putting them only five points outside the playoff positions.<\/p>\n Of course, a second successive defeat might also put out the flame of their promotion chances once and for all, with Davies perhaps ready to drop first-team stalwart Jay Stansfield for such a crucial tie, considering his underperformances as of late.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On his day, Stansfield is one of the first names on his manager’s team sheet, with the ex-Fulham attacker a real livewire when he’s at the peak of his powers.<\/p>\n Indeed, last season, the Blues’ main man up top smashed home a hugely impressive 19 League One goals, which were vital to Birmingham’s title charge.<\/p>\n Following on from such a sublime campaign, Stansfield now boasts ten strikes in all competitions this season.<\/p>\n Yet, that doesn’t tell the full picture of his dwindling form in the attacking ranks, as the hot-and-cold number 28 has only managed to find the back of the net once across his last 17 Championship encounters.<\/p>\n Stansfield 2026 stats<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n Stat<\/p>\n<\/th>\n Stansfield<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n Games played<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Minutes played<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 713 mins<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Goals scored<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Assists<\/p>\n<\/td>\n 2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n As a result, it has fallen to the new breed of Birmingham stars in the form of Carlos Vicente and August Priske to shine, while Stansfield continues to wobble.<\/p>\n Up against Millwall, in particular, the 23-year-old looked way off the pace, with only five accurate passes completed, and one shot registered, before Davies hauled him off the Den pitch with ten minutes left of the one-sided game.<\/p>\n Could it be time for Davies to consider what was once deemed unthinkable and drop the hot-and-cold Englishman?<\/p>\n If he does go ahead with a shock alteration, he might well have a short-term replacement up his sleeve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kyogo Furuhashi is unlikely to push back into his manager’s first team plans, even with Stansfield suffering from a drop in form, as the ex-Celtic forward looks to move away from St. Andrew’s in the near future.<\/p>\n \n Why Davies could now drop Stansfield <\/strong>
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\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n Birmingham City’s Stansfield replacement<\/strong>
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