Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies has indicated that summer signings Dael Fry and Kristoffer Lund could make their first appearances for the club in Tuesday evening's Carabao Cup tie against Brentford. Both defenders have been named in the matchday squad for the first three games of the season but have remained unused substitutes.
The cup fixture comes just days before Blues travel to Championship rivals Wrexham on Friday night, a match between two of the league's most ambitious clubs. Davies acknowledged he must manage his squad across both games, which could open the door for the duo who joined from Middlesbrough and Palermo respectively.
Davies confirms players are ready
“Very possibly, I think both have trained really well, adapted really well, both are fit and ready to go, so it's a good chance we'll see those,” Davies said. The head coach revealed he has held positive conversations with Fry, who turned down other options to join the Blues project.
“I think Dael understands. I've had some good conversations with him. He had good options elsewhere, he came because he believed in Birmingham City, the project and what we can achieve here and he wanted to be part of that,” Davies explained. “That was a really good sign that someone really wanted to be here actually for the right reasons – and I think Dael knows that Chris [Klarer] and Phil [Neumann] have done well and developed a strong partnership.”
Davies stressed that all three centre-backs will feature heavily across the campaign. “But they're all going to play a lot, [there’s] 50 games plus this season, Dael, Phil, Chris, they're all going to play loads of football, no doubt about it. It's just sometimes it's rotation, sometimes it's selection, obviously Dael's ready to go.”
Vazquez pushing for a starting spot
Striker Luis Vazquez, who has played 43 minutes in three outings this term, is also in contention. The Argentine arrived this summer from Belgian side Anderlecht and will be hopeful of facing Premier League opposition.
“He's good,” Davies continued. “He's another one that's got a little bit of game time, he was a bit of a handful when he came on the other day and he's ready to go and again desperate for an opportunity to start a match.”
“There's nothing quite like starting a match, I'm conscious of that, you can sort of try and give players a bit of game time here and there and pick their minutes up for half an hour here and there. But when they do the warm-up, the whistle blows and they're on the pitch to start, it's a different feeling, so I've got to try and find the right balance with this team.”
Brentford pose a stern test
All three players will be keen to face a Brentford side that comes off the back of hammering well-financed Tottenham Hotspur in their Premier League opener. Davies admits a few faces might change but the visitors will be a stern test.
“I'm expecting typical Brentford, I've watched them a lot over the years, they’re pretty good at a lot of things actually, they've got the size and physicality with the set pieces that they're famous for but they've also got some really dangerous players with speed,” Davies said.
“They play good football, they play out from the back, man to man press high, they do a lot of things I really like in football teams, I think they're an excellent team. They've really grown over the years since they've come up to the Premier League.”
Davies acknowledged the challenge ahead: “They're probably going to change a few and they're still going to look like a real Premier League team with the players on the pitch so it's an exciting game for us.”
He also reflected on Blues' cup pedigree. “We've had Newcastle, Fulham in the cup, Leeds in the cup, we've had these games where we've typically always turned up and we've had a right go and the players have enjoyed the games – and I think the fans have as well.”
“This is a proper Premier League team, a really good team, they just beaten Spurs 3-0, they beat Frankfurt 7-0 before that, so we know we're up against it, but it's going to be a really good occasion, I'm looking forward to us trying to impose ourselves at home and do what we do well.”
