It’s the Blues versus the Blues at St. Andrews in the return match of the season’s opening day.Birmingham - A Thorn In The Side Of The Big Four
Birmingham secured another tremendous result against one of the league’s top sides last Saturday as they pegged Arsenal back to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
Overrun at first, Alex McLeish’s side rode their luck and then took their chance before valiantly holding on against a Gunners onslaught.
That followed a game at Old Trafford in which they were unfortunate to take nothing from a lethargic United. They also got a 0-0 draw at Anfield, but Birmingham aren’t only about compact football and negative draws.
Their 3-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough and tremendous 3-2 win at Tottenham proved their ability to bomb forward and smash in goals – particularly on the counter attack.
Never was that more evident than on the opening day against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where they took the lead through Mikael Forssell, got back to 2-2 thanks to Kapo’s thunderbolt, but eventually lost out to Essien’s winner.
Former Chelsea man Forssell says the Londoners can expect more of the same this time around. "There is certainly no point in sitting back against Chelsea,” explained the Finnish international. “I believe every time we push on and try to score a goal it actually takes the pressure off our defence."
The Blues have been spending money under new boss McLeish but the team really need points – they only lie above the relegation zone on goal difference.
Can Chelsea Close The Gap To The Frontrunners?
After numerous dour but generally effective displays Chelsea kicked things up a notch last weekend with an impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham. Juliano Belletti proved he only scores great goals with yet another spectacular long-range effort, while great work from Joe Cole put through Shaun Wright-Phillips to double Chelsea’s lead.
Avram Grant’s side have registered seven wins and two draws from their last ten Premier League games, and have lost just one in 25 in all competitions. The Blues remain third in the table, but crucially they are now nearer to front two United and Arsenal (4pt gap) than Liverpool in fourth (8pts).
Chelsea are missing many key players as the African Cup of Nations prepares to kick off, but regardless they possess a strength in depth most Premiership sides do not have. And with £15m signing Nicolas Anelka now leading the front line the Blues have one of the most highly rated strikers in the league at their disposal. What is more, most of the midfielders are capable of chipping in with regular goals, while the defence has consistently proven its stability.
Despite their indifferent start, this Chelsea squad is easily of the quality of those that won back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006. But a win on Saturday is a must to remain hot on the heels of the league’s front two – the good news for fans is that they’ve never lost against Birmingham in the Premier League.
FORM GUIDE
Birmingham Match Result Date Championship
Arsenal - Birmingham 1 - 1 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Huddersfield Town - Birmingham 1 - 2 05/01/2008 FA CUP
Man Utd. - Birmingham 1 - 0 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Birmingham - Fulham 1 - 1 29/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
Birmingham - Middlesbrough 3 - 0 26/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
Bolton - Birmingham 3 - 0 22/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea
Match Result Date Championship
Chelsea - Tottenham 2 - 0 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea - Everton 2 - 1 08/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Chelsea - QPR 1 - 0 05/01/2008 FA CUP
Fulham - Chelsea 1 - 2 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea - Newcastle 2 - 1 29/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea - Aston Villa 4 - 4 26/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
TEAM NEWS
Birmingham
The Blues have completed the signing of James McFadden but the Scot wasn’t registered in time for this match. Elsewhere, Damien Johnson missed training in the week with a sore back but isn’t likely to miss out. McLeish will probably stick with the same XI that drew with Arsenal, leaving new signing David Murphy, who’s just recovered from a hamstring injury, on the bench.
Likely XI (4-4-2): Taylor – Kelly, Ridgewell, Schmitz, Queudreu – Larson, Muamba, Johnson, Kapo – O’Connor, Jerome
Chelsea
Frank Lampard is back in training but it’s unclear whether Avram Grant will put him straight into the starting line-up. John Terry is definitely out as he continues to recover from a foot injury and Andriy Shevchenko is also sidelined. Drogba, Kalou, Obi and Essien are all on international duty but Nicolas Anelka could make his full debut and latest signing Branislav Ivanovic is also available for selection.
Likely XI (4-4-2 diamond): Cech – Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, A Cole – Makalele – Malouda, Wright-Phillips – Ballack – Anelka, J Cole
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Birmingham – Liam Ridgewell
The former Villa man has become a real fan favourite since moving across Birmingham in the summer. And with displays such as last week’s at Arsenal, it’s easy to see why. The centre-back was dogged and committed as he batted almost everything the Gunners threw at the Birmingham goal. Ridgewell and the rest of the back four may need a repeat performance against Chelsea on Saturday.
Chelsea – Florent Malouda (pictured)
Birmingham have taken points from Arsenal and Liverpool and forced Manchester United to work hard by packing the midfield and defending resolutely. If Chelsea want to break the Blues, they may need to do so from wide areas. Shaun Wright-Phillips has utilised his run of games to great effect, and now Florent Malouda, recently returned from injury, will be looking to emulate the feat. The pacy Frenchman has netted just once in the league since joining from Lyon, but would be equally happy to provide a winning assist
PREDICTION
Birmingham are one of those lesser sides who are incredibly tough for better teams to beat. But Chelsea are often more successful than their rivals at picking up points in this type of game. There may be the odd moment of class, otherwise it’s likely to be systematic, efficient and unadventurous stuff from Avram Grant’s side.
Birmingham City 0-1 Chelsea
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