Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Beginning life without the management of Steven Schumacher, Plymouth Argyle will welcome Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City to their Home Park fortress on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.

The Pilgrims will be under interim stewardship from the dugout as they aim to build on a win over Rotherham United last weekend, while Blues are looking to respond following defeat at the hands of Leicester City on Monday night.

Match preview

After over two years in charge of the club, Plymouth Argyle announced on Tuesday that Liverpudlian Schumacher had departed his role at Home Park in order to take the reins at Stoke City, replacing Alex Neil with the aim of eventually taking the Potters back into the Premier League after a five-year absence.

The Green Army have been in this situation before when Ryan Lowe and Ian Holloway jumped ship to Preston North End and Leicester respectively, but the timing of this gigantic decision from Schumacher has left the Devon-based club in limbo ahead of a busy period of fixtures and the January transfer window.

Plymouth's director of football Neil Dewsnip will lead an interim coaching team this Saturday, when the Pilgrims will be looking to build on an exciting 3-2 win over Leam Richardson's relegation-threatened Rotherham last time out, with Morgan Whittaker scoring a 96th-minute winner to send the Home Park faithful in hysterics.

Currently occupying 16th position in the Championship standings, Plymouth have a six-point advantage over Marti Cifuentes's Queens Park Rangers in 22nd ahead of the 23rd match of the term, with 22 of the Green Army's 26 second-tier points arriving at their Devonshire home so far.

Dewsnip's side are unbeaten in their last four matches in front of their own supporters, a run which includes convincing successes over strugglers Sheffield Wednesday and top-six chasing Sunderland, as well as a share of the spoils from a six-goal thriller with Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough.

Birmingham City were condemned to their seventh defeat in 11 games under the leadership of Manchester United and England legend Rooney on Monday night, when Enzo Maresca's league leaders rocked up to St Andrew's and flexed their top-flight quality, although the hosts produced a brave display against the Foxes.

Blues' bravery will have been perceived as naivety by sections of the Second City crowd after both Stephy Mavididi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall expertly found the net following flowing counter-attacking moves in the first half, but in the second period the hosts posed record-breaking Leicester serious problems.

A standout performer for Rooney's men last time out was Wales international Jordan James, who displayed his abilities to make an impact in both boxes, scoring a brace for the first time in his senior career while also assisting Ivan Sunjic and Krystian Bielik in the engine-room battle.

Juninho Bacuna's first-half strike at Cardiff City on December 13 ended Birmingham's eight-game losing run on the road in the Championship, but the chances of Blues recording back-to-back away maximums appear slim, considering that they have won just two of 11 contests outside of the Second City.

Despite failing to find the net in the last seven second-tier matches, Jay Stansfield remains a vitally important part of Rooney's high-pressing forward line, with the Fulham loanee reportedly attracting interest from title-chasing Ipswich Town ahead of the January transfer window.

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

• W
• L
• W
• L
• D
• W

Birmingham City Championship form:

• W
• L
• D
• L
• W
• L

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Team News

Plymouth's interim boss Dewsnip has confirmed that first-choice goalkeeper Michael Cooper will be sidelined for up to 10 weeks due to a knee injury, meaning Northern Ireland international Conor Hazard is likely to start this weekend.

Centre-back Dan Scarr will be unable to face his former employers after a reckless challenge on QPR's Ilias Chair earned the 28-year-old a red card and subsequent three-game ban on December 13.

Having only returned from a hamstring injury recently, Ryan Hardie is set to miss Argyle's next two matches after suffering a concussion in the win over Rotherham last weekend.

Mustapha Bundu replaced Hardie in the 36th minute but did not make it to the half-time interval after Hakeem Odoffin's challenge left the winger with a nasty cut to his shin, although the Sierra Leone international should be available on Saturday.

With Ethan Laird and Cody Drameh both out of action, Rooney is set to name centre-back Emanuel Aiwu on the right side of the Birmingham backline at Home Park.

James will retain his spot in the midfield after scoring twice against Leicester, but Bielik's spot in the team is under threat by the likes of Koji Miyoshi and Gary Gardner.

Aiwu's enforced switch to right-back and Kevin Long's calf injury has gifted Marc Roberts a place in Rooney's side as a centre-back partner for captain Dion Sanderson in recent matches.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Kesler-Hayden, Pleguezuelo, Gibson, Miller; Cundle, Houghton, Azaz; Whittaker, Mumba, Bundu

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Ruddy; Aiwu, Roberts, Sanderson, Buchanan; Sunjic, Bielik, James; Dembele, Bacuna, Stansfield

We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Birmingham City

Saturday's match will be a real test of Plymouth's character following the departure of fans' favourite Schumacher in the build-up, but the Pilgrims should be confident of earning a win regardless.

Birmingham's high pressing could unsettle for the hosts in the early stages, and we reckon that Rooney's men will battle to an away point this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

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