Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is set to give a first start to January signing Michel in Tuesday's Premier League clash at Portsmouth.

McLeish confirmed Michael would be involved after indicating he will freshen up his side following City's 2-0 FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Fratton Park on Saturday.

Michel has only had the occasional run-out as a substitute since moving to Blues from Sporting Gijon.

McLeish has no fresh injury worries and has set Birmingham a target of a minimum of 51 points by the end of the season after effectively securing top-flight status by reaching the 40-point mark.

Blues (from): Hart, Carr, Dann, Johnson, Ridgewell, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, Fahey, McFadden, Jerome, Taylor, Michel, Phillips, Benitez, Gardner, Murphy, Parnaby, Vignal, Queudrue.