Sheffield Birmingham City, a relegation rival, will rely on long-serving attacker Lukas Jutkiewicz in their season-defining match against Norwich City on Saturday. Birmingham are in a perilous position heading into their final game, having to overcome playoff-bound Norwich City to have a chance of survival while also hoping for positive results elsewhere.
Birmingham might win if Plymouth Argyle draws or loses, and Wednesday or Blackburn Rovers lose. Birmingham hope to have striker Jutkiewicz available for the Norwich match after he proclaimed himself fit to come off the bench against Huddersfield Town. However, he is still recovering from a long-term knee injury.
“Jukey represents what you need at this stage of the season,” stated Blues manager Gary Rowett. “As he has done so many times, he simply wants to get out there. He’s rushing around with more tape on him than I’ve ever seen. He will do his best to be available. That strikes me as very inspiring. That’s what you need to look for at this point in the season: someone who has had to do it so many times but can’t help but be extremely professional.
“If he is available, he could play a critical role in changing the game at some time. We haven’t had much of an opportunity to do so, so he could certainly provide us with another option if we need it later on.”
Birmingham will be missing Oliver Burke, who has had a setback in his recuperation, and long-term absence Alfie Chang.
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