Birmingham City's goal between now and the end of the season should be finishing in the play-offs for a chance at promotion to the Premier League.
The Blues are two points behind sixth place at this moment in time and they have a real shot at making the top six if they can put a run of form together in the remaining months.
They do have a difficult game up next, though, as they travel to face a Norwich City side that have won eight of their last ten matches in all competitions under Philippe Clement.
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Chris Davies' side can take confidence from the fact that they took a Premier League side all the way to penalties in the FA Cup on Sunday, though, as Leeds United needed spot-kicks to go through.
The Blues could even feel hard done by that they did not win the match, hitting the post before extra-time, and some players pushed forward their case for more minutes in the league, including August Priske.
Why Birmingham must start August Priske
Birmingham paid £6m to sign the 21-year-old centre-forward from Djurgardens IF during the January transfer window to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch for the second half of the season and beyond.
August-Priske
The Danish marksman, however, is yet to make a start in the Championship, coming off the bench in all four of his appearances, and he should finally be given a chance to start in the league.
Priske, who had a last-gasp winner ruled out for offside against West Brom, started in the FA Cup against Leeds and showed some incredibly promising signs.
The £6m-rated striker won four duels, including three of his five ground duels, and showed some nice link-up play, completing seven of his nine attempted passes and winning two fouls.
Despite standing at 6 foot 5, Priske showed good mobility throughout the match, interchanging with Jay Stansfield, and dropping deep to get involved in play at times, which is something the Blues have lacked in that position with other players.
The Birmingham player who should never start again
After Priske's promising showing against a Premier League side as a starter alongside Stansfield, Davies should unleash him from the start for the first time in the Championship against the Canaries at the weekend.
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This means that Marvin Ducksch should be dropped to the bench on a permanent basis to allow Priske to start week-in-week-out with Stansfield as the first-choice pairing.
The German striker, who joined from Werder Bremen last summer, has provided value at times, scoring seven goals in 23 matches, but his all-round player has left a lot to be desired.
Ducksch does not have the mobility or physicality to be an effective player at Championship level on a regular basis, and he does not score enough goals to make up for that.
The 31-year-old number nine, who has played as a striker and as a number ten, has been effective purely as a finisher, scoring seven goals from 6.98 xG, but his passing, creative play, and duelling with centre-backs have all been below par.
25/26 Championship Ducksch
Appearances 23
xG 6.98
Goals 7
Big chances created 1
Assists 1
Duels won per game 1.2
Ground duel success rate 14%
Aerial duel success rate 41%
Ducksch fares better in aerial duels than he does in ground duels because he can compete with defenders if he is already in position to challenge for a header, but he lacks the mobility and pace on the ground to come out on top in many of his ground duels.
His lack of mobility is an issue for Birmingham because it loses potential possessions for the Blues, as he is losing the ball in a staggering 86% of his duels on the deck, which means that opposition players are finding it too easy to get the better of him.
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Priske, however, won three of his five ground duels and won 49% of his ground duels in the Allsvenskan in the 2025 campaign, which shows that he offers far more to the team in that respect.
The Dane's return of 18 goals in 27 games in the Allsvenskan last year also suggests that the potential is there for him to be an effective goalscorer for Birmingham if he can carry that over to Championship level as a starter.
Therefore, Davies should bench Ducksch for the rest of the season because of his lack of mobility, using him only as an impact substitute when the team need a goal, and give Priske an extended run in the side to show what he can offer.
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This Birmingham flop should be dropped after his disappointing performance against Leeds.
Ducksch, who turns 32 next month, may already have to consider his future at the club beyond this season if he is permanently benched by the Danish youngster, which means that he may never start for the Blues again if he ends up leaving in the summer.