Birmingham City travel to The Riverside on Tuesday looking to build on their three-game unbeaten run.

They do so off the back of Saturday’s half-and-half performance against Cardiff City, which produced a 1-1 draw and another frustrating afternoon at St Andrew’s.

Pep Clotet will consider freshening up his side, against a home team that is in a far better place than when it came to St Andrew’s earlier in the season.

Blues sliced Boro to pieces that day, with one of their best displays of passing football in years, but still needed a late Odin Bailey to secure the win.

Since then Boro have stabilised, while Blues are emerging from a poor December.

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We spoke to TeessideLive’s Boro editor Dominic Shaw to preview the game.

Boro were a poor second at St Andrew’s earlier this season - Jonathan Woodgate seems to have turned it round. Has he - and if so how?

DS: Boro are still 17th in the Championship but it’s been a quite staggering turnaround since Birmingham. Or more to the point, since the hammering at Leeds at the end of October.

Boro were woeful at Birmingham, one of the low points of the season so far.

Odin Bailey celebrates scoring the winner for Birmingham City against Middlesbrough

But since the Leeds hammering, there’s been a transformation in results and performances. Boro ground out wins over Stoke and Huddersfield and were outstanding to take maximum points away at West Brom and Preston.

The emergence of Djed Spence at right wing-back and form of left wing-back Hayden Coulson has been vital. They provide energy, balance and an outlet down the flanks.

Ashley Fletcher has stepped in the absence of Britt Assombalonga and Boro are much more of a solid unit than they were earlier in the season, despite missing key players such as George Friend, Daniel Ayala and former Blues man Ryan Shotton.

What’s your view of Blues’ season so far?

DS: Pretty nondescript really.

From the outside looking in, they’re not going to threaten the play-off pack and should have enough to warn off the threat below.

I was impressed by Birmingham in the St Andrew’s meeting between these two sides but I don’t know if that was a case of the Blues being good or Boro being bad. Perhaps a bit of both.

Which Boro players will Blues need to worry about?

DS: Patrick Roberts has looked the part since joining on loan from Manchester City. He’s tricky and can thread a needle. Boro have missed that.

Fletcher will likely be back in the XI after being rested at Fulham. And Marcus Tavernier is enjoying a fine run of form in the middle of the park.

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Which Blues players could hurt Boro?

DS: Lukas Jutkiewicz can be a handful if he’s provided with service and company. With four goals in his last seven, he looks to be in decent enough form as well.

Jude Bellingham is obviously the name on lips at the minute. He’s a lovely player to watch and was quality against Boro earlier this season. How on earth is he only 16?!

Is either team in any real relegation danger?

DS: Both should be fine.

Boro are certainly looking up now, which is a welcome shift after a very worrying first half of the season.

The coming games offer Woodgate’s side with a chance to kick on and move safely into mid-table.

Birmingham are inconsistent but going on their performance against Boro earlier this season and what I’ve seen of some of the other teams down at the bottom end, they should be fine.

Prediction time - who wins and why?

DS: Boro are flying along at home, eight unbeaten since the defeat to West Brom in mid-October.

I fancy them to bounce back after their Fulham disappointment. 2-0.