Blues wait on Priske fitness for Halloween trip to Lincoln

Birmingham City are waiting to find out whether their joint top league scorer, August Priske, will be fit for Saturday's Halloween trip to Lincoln City, after the striker missed the defeat at Cardiff.

The 6ft 5in Denmark forward picked up a knock during the 3-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers on 17 October and was replaced by Luis Vazquez for Saturday's 1-0 loss in South Wales.

"A blow"

Head coach Chris Davies told BBC Radio WM that Priske had tried to play through the problem. "He felt something last week that he was trying to run off and it developed into something that was too much of a risk," he said.

"Hopefully he's around for the next one but, if not, then the one after that."

Davies admitted that losing the striker for Cardiff was "a blow", adding: "You could see his presence, quality and mobility up there were missing."

A big part of a strong start

Priske, who joined from the Swedish top-flight club Djurgardens in January, is Blues' top scorer this season with five goals in all competitions, four of them in the Championship, plus an assist.

He has been central to a run that has turned heads. His first-half penalty won the derby at West Bromwich Albion earlier this month, and he scored twice in the 4-0 thrashing of Preston North End at St Andrew's. Blues then beat QPR 3-0 to stay unbeaten at home and keep themselves among the Championship's front runners.

The defeat at Cardiff was a setback, but Davies has made no secret of his ambition. Before the QPR game he said his aim was for Blues to stay in the top four, adding: "We're there, we want to stay there. I don't see any reason why we can't."

Options up front

If Priske is not ready, Davies has other attacking options. Vazquez came on in his place at Cardiff, while Jay Stansfield and Liam Millar have both been in good form this autumn with Millar scoring in each of Blues' recent home wins.

Off the pitch, the club also has a new face in the building. John Murtough, the former Manchester United football director, starts work as Birmingham City's director of football today, taking responsibility for the club's football strategy across the first team, academy and recruitment.

Halloween at Lincoln

The trip to Lincoln on Saturday 31 October is a chance for Blues to bounce back quickly and stay in touch with the leading pack. Whether their tall Danish striker is leading the line could make a big difference to how they go about it.