West Ham v Birmingham

West Ham V Birmingham City

Tuesday, 11th January – 19:45 (GMT)
LIVE on BBC2

West Ham

Hammers boss Avram Grant is determined to ignore all the media vultures who have spent the last month circling Upton Park waiting for what would appear the worst kept secret in English football to come to fruition, with reports suggesting the West Ham board will hold a meeting on Wednesday to ultimately decide Grant’s fate, and whether or not to go through with the plans which claim David Gold and David Sullivan, co-owners of West Ham United, are set to replace the Israeli with former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce.

You cannot help but sympathise with Grant, especially should the inevitable happen on Wednesday. The board handed him a Christmas ultimatum of winning at least one of either league meetings with Blackburn, Fulham or Everton and he meet the criteria, and then some. Two wins and two draws over the festive period and in the New Year had seen the Hammers rise as high as 15th in the table, but their mid-season revival came to an abrupt halt courtesy of their heaviest defeat of the season less than a week ago, when Newcastle thumped Grant’s charges 5-0 at St James’ as the Hammers’ previously prosperous league position of 15th suddenly turned disastrous once more, with the club once again find themselves rooted to the foot of the league.

It would appear the board are eager to see the back of Grant, though the Israeli is frustrating the two David’s in that he continues to pull rabbits from the hat just at the precise moment Gold and Sullivan are prepared to put the former Chelsea and Portsmouth gaffer out of his misery. On Saturday, Grant guided West Ham into the Fourth Round of the FA Cup thanks to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Barnsley, while we shouldn’t forget that it was the same manager who has masterminded this mazy run into the semi-finals of the Caring Cup, where the club are now just two games away from appearing in a major final, and it would maintained this trend of Grant having appear in a final at every club he’s managed.

Because Grant will know he’s under pressure to deliver a positive outcome on Tuesday, he’ll name a very strong side in a bid to make Wednesday’s boardroom meeting as complicated and as stressful as humanley possible. And if he can inspire his team to produce a performance similar to that which saw the Hammers spank Premier League pacesetters Manchester United 4-0 at Upton Park in the previous round, then it would take something extraordinary from their opponents to stop West Ham from putting one foot in the final.

The morale inside the West Ham dressing room shouldn’t be a problem, nor should there be any lack of confidence following an impressive run of form which has seen West Ham lose just one of their last six competitive matches. Furthermore, the Hammers are unbeaten on home soil in their last three games in all competitions, including victories over Barnsley and Wolves, while Avram Grant will feel his team have the slight edge mentally after they held Birmingham to a 2-2 draw on the road earlier in the season in a game where the Hammers were 2-0 up at half-time and should have gone on to clinch maximum points.

Birmingham City

In stark contrast to their semi-final opponent’s build-up, Birmingham’s pre-match preparations have gone smoothly, without any hiccups. In fact Alex McLeish will have virtually a full-strength squad to pick from for Tuesday’s Carling Cup clash with rock-bottom West Ham, while, if the paperwork goes through on time, McLeish may even have the luxury of handing David Bentley his début.

After a torrid first half to the season which seen Birmingham finish the year inside the relegation zone, Alex McLeish suddenly found some Scottish courage as soon as 2011 burst into life. All of sudden, Birmingham are playing with a bit of zest about them, with more intent and passion, particularly in the attacking third of the pitch. No longer are the Blues focusing solely on defending parity, they’re actually interested in winning matches for a change. Alex Hleb now resembles something close to the player which earned so many rave rewards when at Arsenal, with the Belarus international weaving his magic out on the touchline, while seeing Birmingham start games with two up front certainly is no eye-sore, although, saying that, Nikola Zigic is no Michael Buble.

We’re chuffed to bits to see Alex McLeish have a change of heart, with his previously all-out negative tactics tweaked somewhat. The same resolute defence still makes an appearance, although the same one which hasn’t kept a clean sheet in any competition in nearly two months, but offensively Birmingham are more of a threat and that makes them a dangerous proposition for the punters, particularly as they’ve hit a purple patch just at the time when West Ham have also hit a rich vein of form. Back-to-back wins within the space of a week – beating Blackpool away from home 2-1 before doubling up with a 4-1 rout of Millwall in the FA Cup – will have done the spirit of the dressing room the world of good, a dressing room McLeish had his concerns about a little over a week ago. It’s amazing what a couple of wins can do to a team, in this case breathe a fresh lease of life into each and every player.

So Birmingham are aiming to complete the hat-trick, a unique treble haul as well as victory on Tuesday at West Ham’s Upton Park would be their third success on the spin, all in different competitions. It’s a silly feat, one Alex McLeish and his team will care less about, with the opportunity to make their first appearance in a major final since 2001, fittingly in this very competition. Unfortunately, however, the Blues were losers that day, losing to Liverpool on penalties. The objective is to go one better this time around, but they must first despatch of a rejuvenated West Ham before they can even start contemplating of Wembley and entertaining the prospect of a major final.

Ironically, this despite our rave review of Birmingham’s new found love for attacking football and scoring goals, Alex McLeish will probably air on the side of caution a little more than they have done of late on Tuesday night. After all, this match will be settled in the second leg and the final leg will be played at Birmingham’s St Andrews, a fortress for the Blues as they’ve suffered just two defeats their in 25 league matches. However, with Birmingham recently putting their away voodoo to bed with successive away wins over Blackpool and Millwall, no longer can their abysmal away record be highlighted as a possible negative, at least not for this specific match, as right now Birmingham are bang in form on the road.

————————————————-

Carling Cup Results

West Ham

Second Round: West Ham 1-0 Oxford United
Third Round: Sunderland 1-2 West Ham
Fourth Round: West Ham 3-1 Stoke City (AET)
Quarter-Final: West Ham 4-0 Manchester United

Birmingham City

Second Round: Birmingham City 3-2 Rochdale
Third Round: Birmingham City 3-1 MK Dons
Fourth Round: Birmingham City 1-1 Brentford (Birmingham won 4-3 on penalties)
Quarter-Final: Birmingham City 2-1 Aston Villa

————————————————-

Last 5 Matches

West Ham

FA Cup: West Ham 2-0 Barnsley
Premier League: Newcastle United 5-0 West Ham
Premier League: West Ham 2-0 Wolves
Premier League: West Ham 1-1 Everton
Premier League: Fulham 1-3 West Ham

Birmingham City

FA Cup: Millwall 1-4 Birmingham City
Premier League: Blackpool 1-2 Birmingham City
Premier League: Birmingham City 0-3 Arsenal
Premier League: Birmingham City 1-1 Manchester United
Premier League: Wolves 1-0 Birmingham City

————————————————-

Match Prediction: Draw – 3.40 SkyBet

On form alone, I reckon Birmingham would just edge it. Back-to-back away wins is solid form heading over to Upton Park, where the hosts have conjured just six wins all season, in all competitions. However, this is a massive game for Avram Grant and West Ham, possibly make-or-break when you consider that less than 24 hours later the West Ham owners will meet to decide the Israeli’s fate.

Over Christmas the under-fire Hammers boss was under immense pressure to deliver results, with speculation suggesting he needed to pick up points else he was out the door by the time 2011 kicked into life, and his players responded to his rallying calls with just one defeat in six games. Can they do it all over again? Of course, although, the pressure is well and truly on the both manager and players to mastermind a winning result on Tuesday in the knowledge that getting a result in the second leg over at St Andrews will be difficult.

Birmingham have found their scoring touch of late but we’re expecting a more conservative approach to the match from Alex McLeish, who wouldn’t turn his nose up at a draw. Whether the same outcome would be viewed as positive by the West Ham owners remains to be seen.

Match odds:

West Ham – 2.25 Bet365
Draw – 3.40 SkyBet
Birmingham City – 3.50 VictorChandler

The English Premier League

Midweek Fixtures

Tuesday, 9^th February 2009

19:45 GMT – Manchester City (1.44 Bet365) V Bolton Wanderers (9.00 SkyBet)

19:45 GMT – Portsmouth (2.50 PaddyPower) V Sunderland (3.20 VCbet)

19:45 GMT – Wigan Athletic (2.25 Boylesports) V Stoke City (3.60 VCbet)

20:00 GMT – Fulham (1.73 Bet365) V Burnley (5.50 PaddyPower)

Wednesday, 10^th February

19:45 GMT – Arsenal (2.10 Bet365) V Liverpool (3.90 Expekt) ARSENAL V LIVERPOOL DETAILED PREVIEW!

19:45 GMT – Aston Villa (4.30 VCbet) V Manchester United (1.91 Boylesports) VILLA V MAN UNITED DETAILED PREVIEW

19:45 GMT – West Ham United (2.30 PaddyPower) V Birmingham City (3.50 Coral)

19:45 GMT – Wolverhampton Wanderers (4.50 SkyBet) V Tottenham Hotspur (1.91 Bet365)

20:00 GMT – Blackburn Rovers (1.91 VCbet) V Hull City (4.50 Boylesports)

20:00 GMT – Everton (5.50 BlueSquare) V Chelsea (1.73 Bet365)

Live Games:

Manchester City V Bolton Wanderers – Sky Sports 2

Arsenal V Liverpool - Sky Sports 2

The live action kicks off with Man City entertaining Owen Coyle’s Bolton at The City of Manchester stadium as the home side aim to bounce straight back from their shock defeat to Hill City at the weekend. The blue half of Manchester are still dreaming of Champions League football for next season, but could find themselves settling for The Europa League if City‘s performances don’t improve, starting with the arrival of Bolton Wanderers, a side who themselves cannot afford to drop too many points, with Bolton hovering just above the relegation zone. A victory for Man City would lift them above Liverpool and into fourth position, their target destination, whereas defeat for Bolton could see them go into the weekends fixtures in the relegation zone if results elsewhere don’t go in their favour. Another shock, however, an away win for Bolton, could lift Bolton as high as 14^th in the table.

No doubt the fixture which has the most appeal, especially with neutral viewers, is the Arsenal V Liverpool clash which will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports on Wednesday night. Arsenal, after yet another defeat to a title rival, pin their revival challenge on a victory over Liverpool on Wednesday night as The Gunners fall nine points off the pace after their 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Liverpool, though, have their own reasons, equally as important, as to why they desperately need all three points as they aim to cement their top four stance with their first win at The Emirates since 2000. Liverpool are having to fend off the challenge from Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa & Man City for a Champions League berth next season and will boost their chances of finishing in fourth spot immensely with victory over The Gunners. A victory for the away side, a Liverpool WIN, would also bring Arsenal right back into the equation and loosen up two Champions League spots instead of the solitary one the teams have been chasing for the past two or so months. A big game in which a win for either side could have a huge impact on how the positions at the top of the table could be finalised.

The rest of the action goes as follows; Portsmouth, a team who appeared destined for the drop after news of yet more financial unrest, take on Sunderland at Fratton Park in a home fixture they just have to win. However, you wouldn’t fancy either sides chances, with Pompey losing five of their previous six league encounters and Sunderland not winning a Premiership fixture since the middle of November, going eleven games without a win. With this in mind, perhaps a small punt on the draw (3.30 Boylesports) could be worthwhile?

It’s a relegation six-pointer at The DW stadium as Bolton take on Wigan Athletic in a must win clash for either side. For now, though, both are on dry land but a loss for either side could see them spend the rest of this week in the bottom three. Home advantage does make Wigan the favourites, although they haven’t won in three at home, while Bolton won’t attract too many punters after not managing an away win since September, going seven games without any success on the road. Also, both teams are still searching for their first win of 2010. Not another draw (3.40 Boylesports), surely?

Fulham are going through an indifferent spell of late but have now opened up another potential unbeaten run after going two games unbeaten following their 0-0 draw away at Bolton. A win for the Cottagers would keep them in the upper half of the table until the weekend. Their opponents, however, are struggling to fend off the relegation zone but did give their chances a big boost with victory over West Ham United on Saturday, winning 2-1 at Turf Moor. However, Burnley are big ‘underdogs’ in this contest as they haven’t won an away fixture all season, losing 11 of 12 away Premiership fixtures.

A stuttering Aston Villa play host to a Manchester United side on fire at the moment. Villa have managed just one league victory in their last six, which is in stark contrast to their opponents who have won four on the trot, five in their last seven and are unbeaten in seven games. However, Villa are on the verge of completing an historic league double over United but are in need of a big performance to beat the Premiership champions on Wednesday night. Defeat for Villa would dampen their charge for a top four finish while victory for United would keep the pressure on Chelsea, perhaps even take them top if Chelsea don’t produce the goods elsewhere at Goodison.

West Ham meet Birmingham at Upton Park in a rare meeting for both sides. However, it’s Birmingham who arrive with the better form after returning to winning ways with a 2-1 win at home to Wolves. The Hammers, however, succumbed to their eleventh defeat of the campaign as they lost 2-1 at Burnley. West Ham are desperate for points though, but will need a mammoth display to overhaul Birmingham, whom have lost just once in fourteen league fixtures. However, West Ham are unbeaten in three at Upton Park and are boosted by their flurry of forward arrivals in January, so perhaps the home side can overpower a tough and resilient Birmingham side.

Wolves go seeking a first win in seven as they entertain a Tottenham side who have drawn far too many games recently. However, the same could be said for Wolves in terms of losing games, with Wolves losing four of their last five league games, whilst Tottenham have drawn four of their last seven. However, surely Tottenham will be fired up for this encounter and should be good for the win in the knowledge that they must avenge the home defeat they suffered at the hands of Wolves back in December. The problem for Spurs though, has been scoring goals, with Harry Redknapp‘s side scoring just one in their last three away outings. Wolves haven’t been much cop in front of goal either, with Mick McCarthy‘s men not scoring a single goal in any of their last three home fixtures. Perhaps a drab affair (Under 2.5 Goals – 1.85 SportingBet) could be on the cards at Molineux?

Another potential six-pointer as Blackburn welcome the arrival of Hull City in a game they will be supremely confident of getting all three points in. Rovers have played their best football, and gotten the vast majority of their points, in home games this season and should be too strong, on paper anyway, for their opponents, Hull, who haven’t won away from The KC stadium all season. Hull were annihilated in their last away fixture, losing 4-0 at Man City, and they could fall to a similar fate at Ewood Park as Blackburn Rovers have won their last two fixtures at home, beating both Fulham & Wigan Athletic. An away win is big, but tasty nevertheless, and it’s not asking an awful lot to expect a big performance from the Tigers after their weekend heroics over Man City, beating the mega-rich Manchester club 2-1 at The KC on Saturday.

Another eye-catching fixture is the last on the card – Everton V Chelsea. I’m sure most of you will remember the problems Everton caused Chelsea’s defence in the earlier meeting between the two at Stamford Bridge of which Everton scored three. Of course, Chelsea did put the same amount past Tim Howard but it was Everton who claimed the plaudits that day and are still to this day the only team to have taken anything away from Stamford Bridge. However, the two sides had contrasting results at the weekend, with Everton losing a bitter derby contest with Liverpool and Chelsea winning their London derby with Arsenal. Everton were, though, unbeaten in nine before their loss at Anfield, but has the momentum been lost and will Chelsea continue their surge as they set out to make it six wins in seven in the Premiership.