Birmingham City v West Bromwich Albion – English Premier League: Match Preview
Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion are scheduled to fight out a relegation six pointer at Saint Andrew’s Stadium on Saturday evening, 5th of March, 2010. Let’s take a look at what strategies that either team might employ to gain a favourable
result on the weekend.
Birmingham City
Birmingham’s blues finally came to a halt last weekend as they bested the mighty Arsenal in the Carling Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Alex McLeish’s men will be high on morale as they prepare to take on West Bromwich Albion but one can be sure that the Scotsman
will bring his players back down to planet earth for their relegation battle against West Bromwich Albion.
Out of their last five competitive fixtures, Birmingham City have won four whilst losing one.
This run of form has seen Alex McLeish’s team climb to the 16th place spot in the English Premier League rankings. Despite their exit from the drop zone, Birmingham still remain perilously close to the relegation region as they are just two points
ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A win against West Brom will see Birmingham to momentary safety as far as their battle against relegation is concerned but they must embark on a consistent run of results to win the war.
West Bromwich Albion
17th in the English Premier League at the moment, West Bromwich had catapult themselves into Birmingham’s place with a win at Saint Andrew’s stadium.
Roy Hodgson’s team are winless in their last five matches but they have only lost once in their last four fixtures. The Baggies drew their latest English Premier League encounter against Stoke City but if they are survive the relegation onslaught that faces
them, they will have to string together a run of wins.
With just 29 points from a total of 28 matches in the English Premier League, West Brom’s biggest problem in the 2010-2011 season has been their leaky defence. The Baggies have already conceded 53 goals in 28 matches, a tendency which has meant their downfall
in the English Premier League this season.
Team news
Birmingham City will be without the services of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Bentley-c10435
and Curtis Davis are both fit to start the match for the Blues at Saint Andrew’s stadium.
Expected Birmingham City line-up: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Davies, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Larsson, Bentley, Jerome, Zigic, Martins
West Brom’s major fitness concern ahead of the tie against Birmingham is their defender Graham Dorrans who suffered an ankle injury in training for the Baggies on Thursday. The Baggies’ striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Peter-Odemwingie-c29794 is also a doubt for the match against Birmingham
as he suffered an ankle injury during West Bromwich’s draw against Stoke City on the previous weekend.
Expected West Brom line-up: Carson, Meite, Olsson, Shorey, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt, Thomas, Odemwingie, Vela, Tchoyi
Key players
Birmingham’s lack of fire power means that they will be dependent on http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ben-Foster-c7445 to keep them in the game at Saint Andrews stadium. The former Manchester United man was instrumental in their Carling Cup final win over Arsenal on Sunday but he has a knack
of losing the plot in big games.
West Bromwich’s main player on Saturday will be their midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Northern-Ireland-c2972 international playmaker has already contributed with two goals and ten assists this
season. Another stellar performance from him against Birmingham will surely propel West Bromwich to safety.
Prediction
Birmingham City will be favourites to win this tie.
However, their chances of getting a favourable result will be hampered by the absence of Gardener and Ferguson who are crucial to their midfield area.
Prediction: Birmingham City 1 – 0 West Bromwich Albion.
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