Jota joined Birmingham in August for a club-record fee in excess of £6mClick here for live text coverage on Friday 19:15-22:00 BST
Birmingham City could welcome back record signing Jota for new boss Steve Cotterill's first full game in charge.
Like Jota, striker Che Adams and utility man Jason Lowe may also be available after hamstring problems.
Championship leaders Cardiff are hopeful midfielder Aron Gunnarsson will be fit and he will be assessed after helping Iceland reach the World Cup.
Gabon's Bruno Manga and Neil Etheridge of the Philippines are doubtful after late returns from international duty.
Birmingham's Equatorial Guinea right-back Emilio Nsue also faces a quick turnaround to be included, having not been due to return until Thursday, while fellow full-back Carl Jenkinson (dislocated shoulder) remains sidelined.
New Blues boss Cotterill was in the stands for their 6-1 loss at Hull last time out, after replacing Harry Redknapp.
SAM's predictionHome win 28%Draw 28%Away win 44%
SAM, the Sports Analytics Machine, is a super-computer built by @ProfIanMcHale of the University of Liverpool.
Match factsBirmingham have won one of their past 11 league meetings with Cardiff (D6 L4), a 1-0 victory at St. Andrew's in December 2015.The Bluebirds have picked up two wins in their past 27 away visits to Birmingham in all competitions and haven't scored a single goal in any of their last three.Steve Cotterill is set to take charge of his first Birmingham match - his last league meeting against Neil Warnock came in March 2012, with Cotterill's Nottingham Forest inflicting a 7-3 defeat on Warnock's Leeds side.Cotterill has collected 23 from a possible 81 points in his past 27 home Championship games (W5 D8 L14).Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has been involved in 10 goals in his past 14 league games (four goals, six assists).Cardiff have won three more league matches in 2017 (18) than they managed in the entirety of 2016 (15).
Source: bbc.com