English Premier League Preview: Birmingham vs Liverpool
Birmingham are looking to face Liverpool in what is the only match to be played on Sunday this weekend, in the English Premier League.
Birmingham will be looking to hand all their new signings their debuts; however Alexander Hleb might have to wait a week till he can make his debut for the team. The former Arsenal midfielder suffered leg injury midweek, during an international match and is more than likely to not appear in the match.
However the teams other deadline signings, Jean Deausejour and Martin Jiranek will both be in contention to land a spot in the starting eleven for the team. Yet there is some more bad news as Kevin Phillips is out with a calf injury and Stuart Parnaby has a pulled hamstring therefore will not be making an appearance for the Blues.
On the other hand both the signings that Liverpool made, which are off Paul Knochesky and Raul Meireles, will be looking to make their first appearance for the team as they travel away from home to face Birmingham.
Konchensky can expect to be included in the starting eleven for the team; however Meireles would have to most likely settle for a roll off the bench, since the midfielder participated in a midweek match with Portugal.
Dirk Kuyt is still out, having injured his shoulder during training with the Dutch national team and Joe Cole will be sitting out his final game, since he was banned for three matches following a red card against Arsenal on his debut for the club.
Some notable key fact leading up to the game are as follows:
Liverpool although have a decent home record, have managed to only win one of the last ten matches that they have played on the road.
Liverpool have managed to scored only eight goals in their last thirteen away games. Out of those eight goals four were scored against Burnley.
The last nine games that Birmingham have won in the Premier League have been by a score line of one goal more than their opponents.
The last six times these two teams faced each other in the Premier League, the match ended in a draw. If that happens again tonight then the teams would have matched the record for most consecutive draws between any two teams in the Premier League.
Birmingham have conceded three penalties so far this season, that is more than any other team.
Experts believe that despite Liverpool being the stronger team on the night, this match is more than likely to end in a draw. Liverpool are still struggling to get their act together and with the team misfiring, it could be a blessing in disguise for Birmingham who are having problems of their own.
Birmingham's new signings added to their already decent squad could prove to be a hard test for Liverpool, however it is a test that the team will want to pass, if they are to have any hopes of having a better season then the one they had last season.
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