McLeish leaves out McFadden

Birmingham’s £5m striker James McFadden was a surprise absentee from their line-up at Fratton Park as Alex McLeish’s side sought to extend their unbeaten run to five matches and move away from relegation with a win against FA Cup semi-finalists Portsmouth.

Another new signing, Mario Zarate, made his full debut up front for Blues who were also without suspended Martin Taylor and injured Olivier Kapo, and showed just one change from the side that beat Tottenham 11 days ago.