Football Update: Birmingham City vs. Manchester United (Preview)
Manchester United test their resilience and stamina when they travel to St Andrews.
Birmingham City have lost just one match at home this season, which ended their one year undefeated streak at St Andrews a few months back. The side has always performed at the top most level in front of the home crowd and may make history by ending Manchester
United six month undefeated streak in the premier league.
United have an embarrassing, if not terrible, away form this season, as they have managed just one win in seven away fixtures this season. The side managed to throw away two away leads this season and were held to frustrating draws. Yet, United managed a
remarkable comeback when they visited Aston Villa this season, where they came back from being 2-0 down to drawing the fixture at full time.
Last season, United managed a 1-0 victory over Birmingham at Old Trafford but were held to a 1-1 draw at St Andrews. A win at St Andrews would tighten the grip of the Red Devils on the top, going five points clear of Arsenal and 9 points clear of Chelsea
with a game to spare. A loss would be their first loss in nearly six months, a result which would be unacceptable by the manager.
Team News:
Probable Starting XI for Birmingham City (4-4-2): Foster; Carr, Dann, Johnson, Ridgewell; Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, Fahey; Jerome, Zigic.
Probable Starting XI for Manchester United (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Giggs; Berbatov, Rooney
Birmingham manager may need the services of midfielder Alexander Hleb, who would be on the bench following his recovery from a hamstring concern. The side is fully rested following their two week mini break as fixtures against Newcastle United and Everton
were cancelled due to excessive snow. It would be exciting to see two team mates battling each other as Nikola Zigic would face National side and Manchester United http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nemanja-Vidic-c27550 for the first time in the premier league. In addition, former Manchester
United goalkeeper, Ben Foster, would also be in between the stick for Birmingham. Foster would face his former team mates for the first time and has gained top form since his arrival at Birmingham.
For Manchester United, Portuguese Winger http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Darren-Fletcher-c10361 situation would be assessed just before the game, as the player is suffering from cold
and would all depend on his recovery from that. Park Ji Sung would not be available for the fixture as the player has left for the Asian Cup and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Paul-Scholes-c29394 and John O Shea wouldn’t be available owing to Groin and Calf concerns respectively.
Manchester United have not lost a single game in the past 11 visits to St Andrews, with their last defeat coming in November 1978. In the 11 fixtures, United have managed five wins and six draws.
Prediction: A 1-1 draw can be expected from the two sides. Manchester United have a disappointing away form this season and would be up to the fatigue level of the players to prove the prediction wrong. Birmingham are also unpredictable and have already
managed a 1-0 win over leader http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wayne-Rooney-c36736, who are combining well this season.
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