EPL: Birmingham City V Liverpool – Sunday, 12th September (LIVE GAME)

Birmingham City V Liverpool

Sunday, 12th September – 16:00 GMT
LIVE on Sky Sports 1

Birmingham City

League Position: 6th
League Form: DWD

After overachieving last term with a ninth place finish, many were anticipating a tougher campaign the season time around; the ol’ second season syndrome and all that. However, that hasn’t been the case as of yet, and if anything Alex McLeish’s side have retained their qualities from last season, mainly their never say die attitude, as the team remain unbeaten after three starts. They are, though, presented with their toughest assignment of the season to date in a home fixture with Liverpool, however the Reds aren’t what they used to be and this is probably the ideal time to be playing the former giants of the English game.

For those of you interested in the head-to-head: Birmingham fans will be delighted to hear that their team hasn’t suffered a defeat on home soil to Liverpool since 2006, when getting well and truly routed in the FA Cup 7-0. However, you need to go back a further two years for Birmingham’s last league defeat to Liverpool, so they do at least have some sort of voodoo over the Reds. We seem to be giving the impression that the Blues are desperate to salvage some sort of inspiration from somewhere  but that really isn’t the case and they certainly aren’t the underdogs in this contest. They’ve made a bright start to the season, earning two draws at Sunderland and Birmingham either side of a 2-1 victory at St. Andrews over Blackburn Rovers, so there’s definitely no room for pessimism at Birmingham City right now.

Birmingham did, however, go into the international break on a low, although that probably means the two week holiday period was a breath of fresh air for the Blues as it enabled them to recharge their batteries and rethink their strategy following a disappointing draw at Bolton, only made disappointing for the sheer fact that Birmingham squandered a two goal lead and had a man advantage. Nevertheless, there were still plenty of positives to be had out of that game, while McLeish was also a busy man just before the close of the transfer window and may well throw a few fresh faces into the mix for Saturday’s encounter, including a player which turned down a move to Liverpool for sunny Birmingham in Alexander Hleb, formerly of Arsenal and Barcelona.

Jean Beausejour and Martin Jiranek were also snapped up by McLeish on deadline day, hopefully a pair of decent coups, but neither are expected to start on Sunday but will nonetheless bolster Birmingham’s bench, as well as provide important cover and competition for places.

Liverpool

League Position: 13th
League Form: DLW

It’s been a sluggish start from the Reds so far, opening with a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal before capitulating at Eastlands in a 3-0 loss to Man City. However, Roy Hodgson’s men did at least go into the international break on a small high with a 1-0 win over West Brom, although Liverpool weren’t exactly deserving of all three points in a game where they were very one paced, one dimensional and very predictable at times. Another lethargic display like that from the Reds and they’ll find themselves lucky to even come away from Birmingham with a share of the spoils, so it’s time for Liverpool to really show their worth and start delivering before the critics are out in force once again.

Liverpool were so disappointing against the Baggies a fortnight ago in a fixture both the fans and players will have targeted as one where they could really get their tails wagging with a couple of goals and a comprehensive victory. That certainly wasn’t the case and if anything West Brom were the better side in periods, certainly more adventurous in the final third. In the end Liverpool needed a moment of brilliance from Fernando Torres, who else, who appears to be reinvigorated, and over his recent injuries problems after he backed up his winning goal over West Brom with a double for Spain the following week.

Roy Hodgson will welcome back a whole host of internationals ahead of a difficult trip to Birmingham, where Liverpool haven’t registered a league win since 2004. However, one player who returned crooked was Holland’s Dirk Kuyt, who will now miss the next four weeks with a shoulder injury. The irony is his first game back will probably be for the national team, again. The Reds are also still without one of their more creative sparks in Joe Cole, who is still serving a three match ban following his red card against Arsenal on the opening day of the season – His first game back is against United next weekend, of all the teams. Meanwhile, Paul Konchesky, who completed his dream move to Anfield in the closing days of the transfer window, is set to make his Reds début on Saturday and fill the left-back void, with Agger reverting back to type at centre-half.

Elsewhere, Hodgson maybe considering tinkering a little with Liverpool’s midfield formation following the impressive brace of displays from club captain Steven Gerrard for England, who outshone his team mate while on international duty in a more deeper, central role. Birmingham is a tough venue to play at nowadays and Hodgson would be wise to drop Gerrard back in a bid to get a stranglehold of this game, with perhaps Ryan Babel playing off Torres or even N’Gog starting up front alongside the Spaniard in a more attacking formation. Either way, Liverpool need to be far more dominant in games and we don’t see anyway they can do this without ditching Lucas or Poulsen in the centre of midfield and replacing them with Captain Fantastic, Gerrard.

Match Prediction: Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

Three of the last four league meetings at St. Andrews have finished in stalemate and this fixture looks likely to go the same way, with Birmingham so tough to beat on home soil and Liverpool yet to really find their feet.

If Liverpool were to play to their potential, with Gerrard getting more to grips with the game in that deeper role, then they would have every chance of winning this game. But there’s still a huge question mark over the Reds at the present and until that’s disappeared we cannot be backing them in a fixture as tricky as this one, especially as Birmingham haven’t lost at home in 16 league games. Preference would go to Liverpool, slightly, but Birmingham’s resilience should ensure they at least take something from this match up with one of England’s greats.

Soccer-Betting Value Tip: Fernando Torres First Goalscorer – 5.30 VCBet

Match Odds:

Birmingham City – 3.40 Boylesports
Draw – 3.40 Boylesports
Liverpool – 2.30 Bet365