Analysis, team news, match officials and more - here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Pre-match analysisStephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: Fast breaks could be key at St Andrew'sOff to a fantastic start in the league, Brentford travel to Birmingham City on Tuesday looking to progress in the League Cup.
Last season, the Bees made it through to the last eight of the competition before losing 2-0 to Manchester City, and Keith Andrews is likely to freshen up the team that beat Tottenham 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday as he looks to secure safe passage to the third round.
Chris Davies' Blues are unbeaten across three games so far this season, their solitary win coming courtesy of a 1-0 success against Swansea City in the opening round of the League Cup.
Runaway League One champions in 2024/25, Birmingham finished 10th in the second tier last term and currently sit 14th after drawing both of their opening two Championship games this time round.
Andrews will hope a trip to St Andrew's proves a happy one, but he will be well aware that Birmingham are a tough nut to crack on their own patch.
Over the past three seasons, Manchester City (five) are the only side in the 92 to have lost fewer home games across league, FA Cup and League Cup action than Birmingham (six), with the Blues suffering just three league defeats at St Andrew's over that timeframe.
That said, Davies' side were minutes away from a rare home defeat last weekend, only for substitute Demarai Gray to convert a last-gasp penalty and salvage a 2-2 draw against Bristol City.
Afterwards, the Blues manager praised his side's character but highlighted a lack of fluency and a vulnerability on the counter attack which may have made Brentford's ears prick up.
Last season, no team scored more Premier League goals from fast breaks than the Bees (nine), whose ability to transition rapidly from defence to attack could prove particularly useful in the Second City.
Birmingham have yet to fully hit their stride, according to their manager, but their underlying numbers at both ends of the pitch, coupled with their formidable home record, suggest they will be dangerous opponents.
Defensively, the Blues have conceded fewer shots per game (three) in the Championship in 2026/27 than any other team in the division. At the other end of the pitch, only Midlands rivals West Brom (0.18 xG per shot) have created higher-quality chances than Birmingham (0.15 xG per shot).
Brentford, however, imposed themselves in impressive fashion against Roberto De Zerbi's Tottenham, and Andrews will hope his side can produce a similar brand of direct, front-foot football at St Andrew's.
Last season, Brentford played more accurate long balls per game (23.4) than any team in the Premier League, and they picked up where they left off during a pulsating opening 45 minutes against Tottenham.
Before the break, the Bees won 12 of 18 aerial duels and found a team-mate with 64 per cent of their long passes, setting a high benchmark for the new season.
Scout reportDan Long, Sky Sports: Birmingham aiming to build on season of growthBirmingham were promoted back to the Sky Bet Championship at the first time of asking in 2024/25 - and they did it in some style.
In Chris Davies' first season, not only at the club but in senior management altogether, the Blues lost only three league games on the way to finishing as League One champions on 111 points. It was a total that set a new EFL points record - one that may never be beaten.
In the eight seasons leading up to and including relegation from the second tier, the club had not finished above 17th, but last summer, new chair Tom Wagner told BBC Sport that back-to-back promotions, and thus playing Premier League football in 2026/27, was "certainly the goal".
Given the squad's exploits in League One, they were clearly ready to make the step up. Additional reinforcements, including Demarai Gray, Jack Robinson and modern-day Celtic legend Kyogo, gave them an edge and convinced many that a play-off push was doable, at a minimum.
For much of the season, it seemed like that would be the case. Davies' side won three of their first six league games and, by the start of December, were just one point outside the play-off places.
They were soon reminded how fortunes can change - for better and for worse - quickly in football.
First, it was seven without a win; one point outside the play-offs became seven points above the relegation zone by New Year's Day.
"It was well short of a level you expect from a Birmingham City team," Davies said of the 3-0 loss to Watford to start the year.
Then, though, came five wins and three draws, with three clean sheets and six conceded. Back up to the play-off mix they went, this time two points off the pace.
Six defeats across the final 13 games killed off the play-off hopes in the end, as they finished 10th, nine points outside. Still, it represented the club's highest finish in a decade.
Davies said it had been "a season of real growth for us all in the club" and "something we should be really proud of".
As Brian Dick explained in Hot off the Press, there was a focus on bringing in "a bit of size" this summer, to give the team more of a physical presence in 2026/27.
They already had August Priske (6ft 5in), Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann (both 6ft 3in) and Marvin Ducksch and Taylor Gardner-Hickman (both 6ft 2in), but in came 6ft 2in Jhon Solís, 6ft 3in Luis Vázquez and 6ft 4in Dael Fry to remedy that.
In their first three games, Birmingham have gone unbeaten. Priske's goal earned a 1-0 League Cup first-round win, before a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United in the Championship opener and a dramatic 2-2 draw - thanks to Gray's 95th-minute penalty - against Bristol City over the weekend.
The season is yet to get into full swing, so it is too early to judge whether Davies and Co can push that little bit further up the table, and live up to the promotion odds of 4/1 they were given in the summer.
But Wagner's words still stand: getting back to the Premier League as quickly as possible - and for the first time since 2011 - is the target.
In the dugoutChris DaviesChris Davies played for Reading as a youth player and was capped by Wales up to U19 level, before injury forced him into retirement at the age of just 19.
He briefly played for Farnborough in non-league, but was determined to build a career in professional football and graduated from Loughborough University with a first-class degree in sport and exercise science, while also working towards his coaching badges.
At 25, Davies joined Brendan Rodgers’ staff at Swansea City as a performance analyst in 2010 and, for the best part of the next 13 years, the pair continued to work closely together.
At Liverpool, he worked as the club's head of opposition analysis - and it was during his time at Anfield that he earned his UEFA Pro Licence.
He briefly returned to Reading in 2016 as first-team coach, then linked up with Rodgers again at Celtic, before the pair reunited at Leicester three years later.
Davies remained at the King Power until April 2023, when Rodgers departed, then moved on to pastures new as senior assistant coach to Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham two months afterwards.
Just under one year later, Davies left north London to take up his first managerial role at Birmingham, where he signed a four-year contract as Tony Mowbray's successor.
The game planWith Brian Dick, Birmingham MailBirmingham Mailcorrespondent andKeep Right Onpodcast co-host Brian Dick explains how Tuesday night's hosts are likely to approach the League Cup tie against the Bees.
"It has been a 4-2-3-1, leaning more towards a 4-3-3, so the no.10 in the 4-2-3-1 is actually a central midfielder and can play a bit deeper when they are out of possession," he told brentfordfc.com.
"With the way they play, we are not talking 1980s Wimbledon, but they do not tend to take risks in their own defensive third anymore, so will look to get the ball forward relatively quickly."
Last starting XI v Bristol City in the Championship (4-2-3-1): Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Iwata, Solís; Vicente, Paik, Stansfield; Priske
Team newsWilson set to feature as Andrews plans changesKeith Andrews has confirmed Callum Wilson will feature against Birmingham City, and revealed there will be changes to the side that beat Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The Bees came through the 3-0 Premier League victory in good shape, with Andrews reporting only a few minor knocks and bruises and nothing of significant concern.
Wilson made his competitive Brentford debut from the bench against Spurs and will be involved again at St Andrew's.
"Callum will certainly feature again tomorrow," said Andrews. "He's been excellent in pre-season. He's got up to speed really quickly."
With Brentford playing three times in nine days, the Bees boss also confirmed he will utilise the depth of his squad.
"We have that depth, we have that quality," he said. "Will there be changes tomorrow? Yes. How many? I'm not telling you, obviously!"
Match officialsRobinson in charge at St Andrew'sReferee: Tim Robinson
Assistants: Andrew Dallison and Darren Williams
Fourth official: Zac Kennard-Kettle
Tim Robinson will take charge of Tuesday night's League Cup second-round tie at St Andrew's.
The West Sussex official refereed his first Premier League game in December 2019, overseeing Burnley's 1-0 victory over Newcastle United.
Robinson's most recent Brentford assignment came in February, when the 10-man Bees recorded a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Kevin Schade was sent off late in the first half before Dango Ouattara struck the winner in stoppage-time.
Memorable meetingBrentford 5 Birmingham City 0 (Championship, 20 February 2018)Brentford completed a league double over Birmingham City in emphatic fashion with a 5-0 victory at Griffin Park in February 2018.
Ollie Watkins opened the scoring with a 25-yard strike before Florian Jozefzoon doubled the advantage shortly before half-time.
Neal Maupay made it three after the break, before a Marc Roberts own goal extended the Bees' lead.
Watkins then headed home Jozefzoon's cross to complete the rout, as Dean Smith's side recorded their biggest league victory of the 2017/18 campaign.
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