Birmingham are looking for a victory against a strong Everton side to help them move away from the teams at the bottom of the table. But David Moyes knows it won’t be easy against the growing team spirit at St Andrews as the team gets behind its manager with takeover talks continuing.
The Toffees already have Leighton Baines ruled out with an ankle injury, while influential midfielder Mikel Arteta (calf) is doubtful. But Phil Neville and Tony Hibbert are available after serving their suspensions after being dismissed against Liverpool.
After grabbing a victory against Wigan last weekend, Steve Bruce is boosted by the return of Mikael Forssell and Johan Djourou as he bids to move into the safety of a mid-table position.
But he will make a late decision on whether to include Wilson Palaciou in his team after his brother was recently kidnapped in Honduras.