The latest Birmingham City team news as Chris Davies side play host to Sheffield United

Birmingham City are set to be boosted by the return of a key player Sheffield United fans know well in Tommy Doyle.

The 24-year-old, who was loaned to the Blues from Premier League strugglers Wolves over the summer, has racked up 32 league appearances this season and has been selected in the starting lineup of 18 of those matches.

He’s been an important player in Birmingham play-off push in recent months, but has missed both last two games against Queen’s Park Rangers and Charlton Athletic through illness.

However, the former England Under-21 international is now back in training and in contention to start for Birmingham as they target a much-needed home win to put pressure on Wrexham and a number of other teams around them in the race for a top six finish.

Blues boss Chris Davies said: “Tommy Doyle has been ill but he’s trained and it looks like he’ll be available.”

Tommy Doyle’s return could be crucial for Chris Davies’ side

Doyle is one of just a handful of players at Birmingham that know exactly what it takes to win promotion from the Championship and that experience has shone through at times this season.

The midfielder started out at Manchester City, following in the footsteps of paternal grandfather Mike Doyle and maternal grandfather Glyn Pardoe, who both featured in the club’s 1974 League Cup winning team.

Doyle played 11 times for the Sky Blues across all competitions while enjoying loan spells at Hamburg and Cardiff City.

He joined the Blades on loan in 2022/23 and enjoyed an impressive stint with Paul Heckingbottom’s side as they won automatic promotion with a second place finish. Doyle featured 38 times across all competitions, scoring four times and making seven assists as the team also reached an FA Cup semi-final.

Since leaving Bramall Lane, Doyle has signed for Wolves initially on loan in 2023 before joining on a permanent a year later. He played 58 times across all competitions for the Old Gold but never established himself as a starter with Joao Gomes and Andre often being preferred.

He hasn't quite got back to the heights he reached at S2 yet this season but has been a source of creativity with three assists. If he features at the weekend it’ll be just the second time he’s returned to face Sheffield United. However, he won’t have fond memories of the last one after receiving a straight red card in December during a 3-0 loss at Bramall Lane.

Elsewhere, Blues boss Davies has also confirmed that Danish striker August Priske is back in contention after his illness. He arrived in January from Djurgårdens in Sweden after a stellar campaign last term which saw him score 23 times in 43 appearances while reaching the Conference League final. He’s yet to score in nine outings for Birmingham so far.