Question looms for Chris Davies with two Birmingham City undroppables in need of a rest

Chris Davies has shown us who the fulcrums of his Birmingham City side are during this hectic festive schedule.

Only two outfield players have started and finished the four matches against Crawley, Burton, Blackpool and Stockport: Blues captain Krystian Bielik and midfield dynamo Tomoki Iwata. Whilst everyone else has been rested and rotated, Bielik and Iwata have played 360 minutes of football – before stoppages – in the space of 10 days.

Had it not been for his suspension against Burton Albion, Christoph Klarer could well be in this conversation too. That suspension worked in Davies’ favour and Klarer was one of the few Blues players who didn’t look jaded against Stockport on New Year’s Day.

Bielik, on the other hand, made an uncharacteristic error in stoppage time that would have resulted in a winning goal for Stockport had it not been for Klarer’s alertness. Iwata wasn’t his usual energetic, dominant self in the second half at Edgeley Park either.

Bielik and Iwata need a rest but the question is whether Davies is willing to do it against Wigan. There is no doubt the Blues manager would rather his instrumental duo battle through one more 90 minutes and take their breather when Lincoln visit St Andrew’s for a third round FA Cup tie next week.

Davies did, however, want a stacked squad for this period and this reason. Ethan Laird and Taylor Gardner-Hickman are capable of playing at right-back in place of Bielik and Marc Leonard is an excellent replacement for Iwata.

Who else could Davies rotate?

For the first time this season, Alex Cochrane looked overworked and overstretched before being taken off late in the day at Stockport. Davies won’t want to rest Cochrane with no natural replacement at left-back following Lee Buchanan’s season-ending injury.

The changes usually occur in the forward areas and if Scott Wright was further along in his rehabilitation, he would be in contention for his first league start. Other than Fulham loanee Luke Harris and the out-of-favour Ayumu Yokoyama, Davies has limited options to shake things up.

Possible line-up for Wigan…

(4-2-3-1): Allsop; Laird, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Leonard, Paik; Harris, Willumsson, Stansfield; May

What should Chris Davies do? Let us know in the comments HERE