Birmingham City will head into their Boxing Day clash with Burton Albion sitting pretty at the top of the League One table, as Blues fans already begin to dream about a title triumph.
It has been a flawless December for those with allegiances to the table-toppers, with six wins picked up from six in all competitions, which included a hard-fought victory against Crawley Town being picked up last time out.
Nobody watching the game would have been shocked to see Jay Stansfield pop up with another strike, but the scoreline would only read 1-0 come full-time surprisingly, as the Blues’ defence had to stand firm throughout to avoid an unwanted slip-up.
Standout Birmingham defenders this season
Birmingham will know they cannot underestimate any team in the tricky division, even with Crawley loitering near the foot of the League One table.
In the end, the narrow three points were secured, but the likes of Krystian Bielik and Christoph Klarer had to remain alert across the 90 minutes to ensure no goals were given up, with the pair winning a stunning 21 duels combined.
With Ben Davies also having to complete seven clearances, it certainly wasn’t a vintage Birmingham performance all across the pitch, but the defence at least did their job at the Broadfield Stadium.
Only leaking 16 goals from their 19 league clashes to date, Chris Davies will hope his back four continues to valiantly battle, especially as more tense games loom on the horizon in 2025.
Unfortunately, whilst the Blues defence remaining staunch will please Davies, this could signal the departure of a forgotten figure at St. Andrew’s this January, who has barely featured this season despite once being an integral part of the first team.
Dion Sanderson's future at Birmingham
Reports have now surfaced that Dion Sanderson could be off to Coventry City this coming transfer window, with the reserve defender finding game-time hard to come by recently.
Yet, these links with a move up to the Championship showcase how talented a centre-back Sanderson can be on his day, with the Blues number 5 donning the club’s armband last season in the second tier.
He would shine for Birmingham on an initial loan deal during the 2022/23 season, before leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers behind permanently for St. Andrew’s the following campaign, having been branded as a “fantastic” pick-up to make by then Blues boss John Eustace.
“Dion knows what I think of him. I’ve said on a number of occasions in interviews how much I like him as a player and how much I respect him, if we can get him that would be fantastic.”
Eustace would have felt vindicated by his words – even as he was eventually dismissed – with Sanderson going on to amass ten clean sheets for the club in the league last season, all whilst Birmingham disastrously slipped down to the third tier.
The towering 6 foot 2 defender must have been hoping that a dire change in division would see him become an even more crucial part of the jigsaw, but plenty of new recruits at the back after Davies’ arrival onto the scene have seen him slide down the pecking order.
Not helped by injuries or suspensions, the ex-Wolves man has only started one paltry game in League One so far, which came all the way back on the opening day of the season versus Reading as Davies went about still constructing his new-look team.
Games played
15
18
37
Touches*
108.8
99.4
46.3
Accurate passes*
79.5 (89%)
74.8 (87%)
30.7 (85%)
Interceptions*
2.2
1.0
1.4
Ball recoveries*
5.7
3.5
3.4
Tackles*
1.9
1.4
1.0
Total duels won*
8.3
6.5
3.4
Looking at the table above, it’s also clear that Davies prefers using both Bielik and Klarer over Sanderson owing to their standout traits, with far more touches and accurate passes averaged this season by the pair than the reserve defender managed last campaign, alongside also winning a heftier amount of duels.
Birmingham fans would be sad to see Sanderson depart, but with the defence the Blues can now boast, it feels inevitable that the 25-year-old will have to leave to gain more minutes elsewhere.
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