McFadden faces fitness test

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will check on the fitness of forward James McFadden before naming his squad to take on Bolton in Sunday‘s Premier League clash at the Reebok Stadium.

Scotland international McFadden scored from the penalty spot in last night‘s 3-2 Carling Cup win over Rochdale but was replaced at half-time after complaining of a tight groin.

McLeish made eight changes to his side for the cup win and the likes of Ben Foster, Stephen Carr, Liam Ridgewell, Barry Ferguson, Craig Gardner and Cameron Jerome can all expect to return to the starting line-up.

Former Blackburn striker Matt Derbyshire is pushing for a start after opening his account against Dale, while full-back David Murphy also scored on his return from 16 months out with a fractured kneecap.

One player who definitely will not figure is veteran striker Kevin Phillips, who could be out for another month with a thigh problem picked up before the start of the campaign.

Team (from): Foster, Carr, Parnaby, Murphy, Ridgewell, Dann, Johnson, Larsson, Gardner, Bowyer, Ferguson, Michel, Fahey, McFadden, Valles, Redmond, Jerome, O’Connor, Zigic, Taylor, Doyle, Derbyshire.