Birmingham City V Manchester United

Birmingham City V Manchester United

Kick-off: Tuesday, 28th December – 20:00 (GMT)
Venue: St Andrews
TV Coverage: Sky Sports HD1

One of the more contrasting clashes on Tuesday sees Birmingham City entertain Manchester United inside St Andrews, where the Red Devils have won only once in their previous four league visits but find themselves needing to better a disappointing track record in Birmingham if they’re to retain top-spot in the Barclay’s Premier League table come the end of 2010.

No team are in a better position to wrestle the Premier League crown away from Chelsea’s grasp than Manchester United, and that’s a frightening statement for all of their rivals as the Red Devils have a proven track record of finishing the campaign like a steam train. Sat top of the pile by two points, with just as many games in hand over their nearest pursuer, local rivals Man City, to say United’s situation is healthy would be a massive understatement – It’s dominant. What’s more, they appear as though they’re hitting their stride with the performances gradually getting to the standard which would suggest a team in title-winning form.

Their latest signal of intent was to comprehensively beat a Sunderland side who have caused each of their title rivals problems. At Old Trafford, United were rampant as the final score of 2-0 didn’t fairly reflect the dominance Fergie’s men enjoyed. Ryan Giggs in particular was in sublime form, as was Wayne Rooney even though he still awaits his first goal from open play since March, though it was top-scorer Dimitar Berbatov who once again stole all the limelight with his brace. The Bulgarian is showing the sort of clinical finishing and composure in front of goal which forced Ferguson’s hand over two years ago, and his budding relationship with Rooney really has blossomed this season and it’s been the silky Bulgarian who has reaped the vast majority of the rewards and plaudits, taking his league tally for the term to 13 on Boxing Day.

While United’s midfielders and strikers have been catching everyone’s eye and making all the headlines, only the shrewd few, and I’m going to throw my big head into that ring, would pay homage to a defence which has been the solid foundation needed in order for the Red Devils to stand strong in a crowded market place which has become more and more unstable as the competitors around them toughen up and raise their game. No longer are injuries restricting the growth of the chemistry at the back for United, with the Van Der Vaart; Vidic, Ferdinand, Rafael and Evra set-up growing in stature and confidence with every match. Only a scruffy Christopher Samba goal has found its way past Edwin Van Der Saar in United’s last four league encounters, with their shut-out at home to Sunderland on Sunday their third in four games.

Christmas may well have passed but we’re willing to play the role of Humbug Scrooge by dashing all the hysteria around Manchester by highlighting Manchester United’s disconcerting away flaws.

A staggering nine of their ten league victories this season have come at Old Trafford, as have 27 of their 38 goals. The gulf in not only quality of performance but also the end product between their home and away matches is so huge that United, despite their incredibly strong position at the top of the table, instantly become a vulnerable outfit on the road. Only Stoke City, via two wonderful Javier Hernandez goals, have been beaten at home by Man Utd this season, only Sunderland and Man City have been denied in front of goal by United at home as well.

It all makes for unpleasant reading if you’re a United supporter, but there’s no doubt United have been racing through the gears and with confidence in the dressing room sky-high – Sir Alex was even seen joking with Berbatov after the Bulgarian was subbed late into the Boxing Day feast at Old Trafford – the league form impeccable and their star men beginning to find their rhythm, that away spark which is definitely needed in order for United to clinch their record-breaking twelfth Premier League crown may well be just around the corner.

Of course, Alex McLeish and Birmingham will have other ideas, and it isn’t as though the Blues don’t have their own immediate urgency for points.

Positioned in 17th and possibly just one more defeat away from dropping into the bottom three for the first time this season, matters haven’t just taken a serious turn for the worse at St Andrews, there’s a growing sense of desperation. Just three wins in the league thus far, just one in their previous eight, there’s a distinct lack of cohesion and continuity about the Birmingham campaign thus far – And combined with their lack of final third creativity and flair, having registered the least amount of shots on and off target in the top-flight this term, we’re already considering Birmingham for the drop.

On the positive side of things, all of Birmingham’s premium wins have come at their St Andrews, what had been a fortress until Everton spoiled everything earlier in the season. Even so, they’ve succumbed to defeat on just one occasion in twenty-three and boast a far stronger defensive record at home than they do on the road, conceding eight less.

However, the lack of goals is a massive concern especially as they aren’t creating chances. Seventeen isn’t the worst goalscoring record in the league, though it isn’t encouraging either – It’s virtually on par with the relegation occupants. Eight of those have come at St Andrews however, and the Blues have scored in each of their previous four home contests in the Premier League, so there is at least some hidden form to suggest Birmingham are capable of frustrating the mighty Reds for the second year running. Plus, they’ll be the fresher of the two after their Boxing Day clash with Everton was postponed.

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Last 5 Matches

Birmingham City

Premier League: Everton P-P Birmingham City
Premier League: Wolves 1-0 Birmingham City
Premier League: Birmingham City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Carling Cup: Birmingham City 2-1 Aston Villa
Premier League: Fulham 1-1 Birmingham City

Manchester United

Premier League: Manchester United 2-0 Sunderland
Premier League: Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal
Premier League: Blackpool P-P Manchester United
Champions League: Manchester United 1-1 Valencia
Carling Cup: West Ham 4-0 Manchester United

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Premier League Head-to-Head (Last 10)

2009/2010: Birmingham City 1-1 Manchester United
2009/2010: Manchester United 1-0 Birmingham City

2007/2008: Manchester United 1-0 Birmingham City
2007/2008: Birmingham City 0-1 Manchester United

2005/2006: Manchester United 3-0 Birmingham City
2005/2006: Birmingham City 2-2 Manchester United

2004/2005: Manchester United 2-0 Birmingham City
2004/2005: Birmingham City 0-0 Manchester United

2003/2004: Birmingham City 1-2 Manchester United
2003/2004: Manchester United 3-0 Birmingham City

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2010/2011 Premier League Statistics

Birmingham City

League Position: 17th
Win-Draw-Lose: 3-9-5 (Home: 3-4-1)
Form: DWDDL (Home: LWDWD)
Goal Difference: 17-20 (Home: 8-6)
Top Scorer: Craig Gardner (4)

Manchester United

League Position: 1st
Win-Draw-Lose: 10-7-0 (Away: 1-6-0)
Form: DWWWW (Away: DDWDD)
Goal Difference: 38-16 (Away: 11-10)
Top Scorer: Dimitar Berbatov (13)

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Team News

Alex McLeish has confirmed that on-loan Barcelona ace Alex Hleb, who has spent the last four weeks sidelined with a hamstring injury, has returned to first-team training and that he would play some part over the festive period and New Year. James McFadden is the only definite absentee, with the Scot out with a knee injury – cruciate ligament damage – since September.

Aware of Birmingham’s Boxing Day breather, with the Blues’ clash away to Everton on Boxing Day postponed due to a burst water pipe, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson displayed his economic qualities by resting top-scorer Dimitar Berbatov, replacing the Bulgarian, who scored twice in his side’s 2-0 win at home over Sunderland, with Javier Hernandez late on. Berbatov, who hasn’t featured too prominently in United’s December schedule, for one reason or another, should now be certain of a starting berth at St Andrews.

Ryan Giggs was also handed some much needed rest bite. The Welshman played a starring role in United’s victory over the Black Cats and was substituted on the hour mark with Tuesday’s trip to Birmingham in mind, as was Brazilian midfielder Anderson, who was deputising for the ill Darren Fletcher. Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Antonio Valencia won’t feature in a United shirt until 2011.

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Match Odds:

Birmingham City – 7.00 VictorChandler
Draw – 4.00 Bet365
Manchester United – 1.57 Coral

Birmingham City V Manchester United

Saturday, 9^th January – 17:30 GMT (ESPN)

Birmingham City

League Position: 8th

Recent Form: WWDDW

The Birmingham express just keeps on rolling, even if it is running a tad slower in the FA Cup, but will the arrival of Man Utd knock the high-flying blues straight off the track? Past results would certainly suggest so as Birmingham have never beaten Manchester United in the league at St. Andrews, nor have they beaten them at all in actual fact. However, it is Alex McLeish’s men who head into this fixture with all the momentum and that could be in crucial as Birmingham aim to record their first every victory over The Red Devils in the Premiership.

Even a tough set of Christmas fixtures couldn’t derail Birmingham, with a 2-1 victory over Blackburn and a 0-0 draw with Chelsea, either side of Christmas, extending their unbeaten run in the league to eleven games. Their best run for over 102 years. This outstanding streak of theirs consists of seven wins and four draws, with even the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool & Man City all failing to overhaul Birmingham this season. However, Man Utd are one of a select few that have already claimed the scalp of Brummie this season and they’ll be aiming to complete a league double over Birmingham.

Birmingham’s fantastic run of form has been built upon the basis of a solid defensive. Something which we have highlighted in just about every preview, but, unless it goes wayward, we will carry on praising it as it has been a sensational defence, of which Joe Hart has to take a lot of the credit. Alex McLeish’s side have conceded just 18 goals this season, level with the likes of Man Utd, Aston Villa; slightly worse than Chelsea who have shipped just 17; but better than both Arsenal & Liverpool; which just puts it into comparison how strong a defence it’s been. However, it’s been especially strong at St. Andrews, with Birmingham boasting the leanest home defence in the land, conceding just 5 goals at home all season.

We’ve talked a lot about this bullish defence for weeks but it’s vitally important to have a strong backbone in games such as these. Joe Hart, who has been arguably the league’s best goalkeeper up till now, has kept two consecutive clean sheets in goal, eight in all, and hasn’t conceded a goal in a little over 185 minutes of play. Then again, Birmingham haven’t managed to score two or more in either of their previous three outings in the league, so although they are incredibly strong at the back they are very weak in attack, although we prefer to view it as ‘clinical’.

“Clinical, you say?” Well, all nine of their victories this season have all been by a one goal margin, of which six have been to nil, six have been 1-0′s. This is proof that Birmingham don’t play like Real Madrid but, however, are far more consistent and reliable than the Spanish giants. This outstanding unbeaten run of theirs needs to be respected and we won’t fall foul to arrogance. We quite fancy Birmingham to stretch their unbeaten run and, possibly, record their first win over a United side that are clearly rocking.

Manchester United

League Position: 2nd

Recent Form: LWLWW

The mighty Red Devils haven’t been at their sublime best in recent weeks but will need to pull a huge performance out of the bag if they any real ambitions of walking away from St. Andrews with all thee points as their Birmingham opponents boast far better form than they do. United are, though, still in the race for the title and could find themselves top of the table with a victory on Saturday, although they would still need Hull City to do them a favour elsewhere, but there are clear incentives for United heading into an extremely tough new year fixture. 

United have been far from untouchable this season but they’ve been even more vulnerable on the road, losing twice as many away fixtures as Birmingham have lost at home. Four times Ferguson’s Manchester United have come a cropper away from Old Trafford this season, which is a million miles away from the form they displayed in last seasons league winning campaign. Nonetheless, Sir Alex’s United remain one of the best in the land, and although they don’t boast a great wealth of form at present, they do have a handful of players with serious match winning abilities and they will be a threat no matter how bad their form is.

Sir Alex will, though, need to lift the spirit of the camp after a morale crushing defeat at the weekend in which Man Utd, the 11 times winners of the competition, were sent packing at the third round stage by League 1 outfit, Leeds United, in a game where the Red Devils were tamed by Simon Grayson’s Leeds. 

I’m a Liverpool fan through and through, so I’m used to terrible performances from my side, but even I felt sorry for the loyal set of United fans in the terraces at Old Trafford as their side were dreadful. Their passes were going wayward, their midfield was all over the shot, the defence was a shambles, while even their best player this season, Wayne Rooney, was missing sitters even my Grandma would struggle to miss. It really was a bad day at the office, but in a huge encounter, and it’s hard to comprehend not only how will that affect the morale of the camp but if United can recover in time to face an inform Birmingham City.

If United are to end Birmingham’s valiant unbeaten run then you’d expect Wayne Rooney to be at the forefront of this assault. However, even his best efforts haven’t provided United with a decent away record (6-0-4), and the Reds’ have been a vulnerable away outfit all season. They do, though have this unique ability to throw up a stunning performance from out of the blue and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they plucked one up again this Saturday.

Head-to-Head (Last 8):

Birmingham City W: 0 Manchester United W: 6 Draws: 2

• Birmingham have never beaten Man Utd in a Premiership fixture

• In eight meetings, the best Birmingham could muster was two draws, with both of them coming at St. Andrews.

• In eight encounters with United, both home and away, Birmingham have failed to find the goal in seven of those, and haven’t scored against United in their previous four attempts.

• Man Utd have won the last four contests between the two, all to NIL.

• The last three meetings have gone the way of Man Utd, all by a 1-0 score line.

Match Verdict: Draw – 3.80 Bet365

We have played safe with a punt on the draw. These two are so evenly matched in that Birmingham are the in form side of the two but are up against the quality of Man Utd. A team who, were they on top of their form, would probably win this fixture with few problems. However, United’s form issues makes them a precarious bet and Birmingham did hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw not so long ago, although they really should have won that encounter were it not for some bad referring decisions. Birmingham will still need to work their socks off in order to get a result but they’ve built up a solid defensive foundation and United will struggle to break them down after a torrid weekend. Birmingham to become yet another side to frustrate Sir Alex Ferguson!

Match Odds:

Birmingham City – 6.80 Expekt.com

Draw – 3.80 Bet365

Manchester United – 1.62 PaddyPower