Birmingham v Bolton preview

Published Apr. 1, 2011 9:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

Birmingham's leading scorer Nikola Zigic and midfielder Lee Bowyer are poised to return. Eight-goal Zigic made his comeback from a groin injury by playing for Serbia in midweek. Bowyer has resumed full training after recovering from a hamstring problem. Playmaker Alexander Hleb could also be added to the squad after having an injection to ease his knee problem. But central defender Martin Jiranek is doubtful after undergoing a minor toe operation. Bolton boss Owen Coyle is short of central midfielders. Stuart Holden has been ruled out for six months after damaging knee ligaments in the defeat by Manchester United last time out, while Mark Davies is a major doubt as he continues to battle an ankle injury. That means Tamir Cohen could make his first Premier League start of the season, with England Under-21 international Fabrice Muamba also in contention. Zat Knight (knee) is back in training but not yet ready for a return, while Sean Davis (knee) and Sam Ricketts (Achilles) are both long-term absentees. Birmingham (from): Foster, Doyle, Carr, Parnaby, Johnson, Jiranek, Davies, Ridgewell, Murphy, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, Garner, Mutch, Beausejour, Fahey, Bentley, Jerome, Zigic, Martins, Phillips, Hleb. Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Cahill, Wheater, Muamba, Petrov, K Davies, Elmander, Klasnic, Taylor, Alonso, Rodrigo, Cohen, Steinsson, Blake, Lee, Bogdan, Sturridge.