Birmingham City will stage a behind-closed-doors friendly match during the forthcoming international break, manager Chris Davies has confirmed.
The Blues, along with their Championship rivals, face a rare three-week hiatus six weeks into the season due to FIFA merging the September and October international windows into one extended period.
With 19 senior players available at the club and six away on international duty, Davies is keen to maintain the squad’s match fitness through a friendly encounter.
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“It’s different,” Davies commented on the unusual length of the break. “I probably prefer it in the sense of having two international breaks rather than three.
“Our approach will be to treat this as a standard international break, but during the free weekend we will play a behind-closed-doors friendly. We aim for it to replicate the intensity and challenge of a Championship game or a similarly competitive match.
“This friendly will be prepared and recovered from like a normal game. It’s too soon in the season to give too much time off, so this free weekend will serve as a competitive fixture.
“We’ve arranged this game by coordinating with another club facing a similar situation. I’m confident it will proceed as planned. Other teams are also organising matches during this period, so it should provide excellent preparation for our upcoming match against West Brom.”
The Blues' squad enjoyed some rest earlier in the week but will resume normal training as they build up to the friendly next weekend.
Managing absences, Davies will be without key players currently on international duty: goalkeeper James Beadle (England U21s), Bright Osayi-Samuel (Nigeria), Paik Seung-ho (South Korea), Jhon Solis (Colombia), Liam Millar (Canada), and August Priske (Denmark U21s). However, he remains hopeful of welcoming back Max Bird, Taylor Gardner-Hickman, and Demarai Gray in time for the match against West Bromwich Albion on 10 October.