Birmingham defender David Murphy is expected to shake off a groin injury and be passed fit for Blues' trip to face Southampton on Saturday.The left-back was substituted at half-time during Blues' 4-0 Carling Cup win over Wycombe in midweek having picked up the injury.

However, boss Alex McLeish believes he will be fit come Saturday, saying: "He over-stretched and slipped. The surface was pretty tough and he almost did the splits, it gave him a wee tweak in the groin. We hope that he will make it at the weekend."

Defenders Stephen Kelly (groin) and Radhi Jaidi (back) also return to the fold but Damien Johnson (back) is still out.

McLeish has several selection decisions to make, most notably in attack where Kevin Phillips, Marcus Bent, Cameron Jerome, James McFadden and Garry O'Connor will all be vying for the two starting berths.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie could start on the wing after his impressive goalscoring debut against Wanderers.

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