Tottenham Hotspur V Birmingham City

English Premiership 2009/2010 – Game Week 4

Tottenham Hotspur V Birmingham City

Kick-Off: Saturday 29^th August – 15:00 GMT

Venue: White Hart Lane

Tottenham Hotspur

League Position: 1st 

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Tottenham have made their best start to a season for over 50 years and already fans and pundits alike are getting carried away. Yes, Tottenham may have won three games on the bounce, one being a very creditable victory against Liverpool, but it’s penetrative that Harry Redknapp keeps his squad’s feet firmly on the ground before they, too, get carried away with the euphoria surrounding their early success.

Liverpool, Hull City and now West Ham have all come up short against Tottenham Hotspur and you would feel this fixture with Birmingham at White Hart Lane is the easiest of the lot, on paper that is. The bookies have gone to town on pricing this game up and have made Tottenham as short as 1/3 to win their fourth successive game and, after their superb early performances, it’s not too hard to see why.

Redknapp has got straight down to work on where he felt Tottenham’s problems lay and that was with their attacks. Tottenham are now attacking at a ferocious pace and can back this up with some serious talent. Jermaine Defoe has been on fire in front of goal, scoring in his previous two starts, and has already added four goals to his league tally after just three games.

We have spotted a flaw in the Tottenham express though and that’s with their defence. Jonathan Woodgate, arguably Tottenham’s best defender, is currently out injured so Redknapp chosen Bassong and King as the Tottenham’s main centre-backs in the mean time. However, Bassong can get lost at times, this was evident at the weekend against West Ham, while Ledley King has major fitness issues, so how Redknapp expects to have a solid defensive line for the whole season is beyond me. However, a disappointing Liverpool failed to exploit what is still a vulnerable Tottenham defence but against a team like Birmingham, who can surprisingly play decent football, they could come a cropper.

Birmingham City

League Position: 8^th

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I’m a big fan of Birmingham City, and no it’s not because of that little rascal, Lee Bowyer. Under Alex McLeish, Birmingham have played some of their best football in the clubs rather short Premiership history. If only Mcleish had the cash to bring in some decent talent and we’d stick out necks on the line and say Birmingham could be serious top ten contenders. However, he has to be content with what he has, which, in all fairness, isn’t exactly ideal. James McFadden, who is often the saviour for Scotland, is the party maker in midfield while new signing Christian Benitez will be a big hit up front once he settles into life in the Premiership. There are still a few problems with their defence but we fully expect Birmingham to survive this season, albeit probably by the skin of their teeth.

As far as this game goes, many will have Tottenham down as a banker in their weekend accumulators, considering Spurs have won three on the bounce and Birmingham have just one win in three. However, Birmingham aren’t a side that tend to travel in the mindset of defending for the full 90 minutes in a bid to snatch a point, or at least not against sides they feel they could beat. We have touched on Tottenham’s frailties at the back and we fancy Birmingham to expose them at white Hart Lane and possibly cause the shock of the weekend. Backing Birmingham to breach the Spurs goal, in our opinion, would be a smart move. Like Spurs, ‘Brummie’ can also attack at pace and they certainly know how to keep the ball under pressure. The concern will be their defending but if they can keep it clinical in front of goal then who knows what might happen.

Head-to-Head:

Tottenham W: 5 Birmingham W: 3 Draws: 2

Tottenham have generally had the more success in previous meetings but Birmingham did manage a surprise 3-2 victory when the pair last met at White Hart Lane back in 2008. Before that rare Birmingham win, though, Spurs had won the previous four home encounters. The pair have yet to play out a draw at White Hart Lane but we’re counting on that statistic changing this weekend.

Match Verdict: Birmingham to nick a point in a DRAW – 15/4 Bet365

Some may say we’re brave, others may go for ‘Stupid’, however, we think we’re both. Birmingham on their day can be right handful for any side. Against United on the opening day, Birmingham shown glimpses of real potential and when you consider that all the pressure to win will be on their opponents, Birmingham will slip right under the radar here. It will take a big performance though, don’t get us wrong, but it’s certainly not out of the question for Birmingham to take at least a share of the spoils at White Hart Lane. Plus, when you consider Tottenham are as short as 1/3 with several firms including; totesport & StanJames. We can’t see any value nor point in backing Spurs, despite their sensational start to the season.

Match Odds:

Tottenham Hotspur – 4/9 VictorChandler

Birmingham City – 10/1 SkyBet

DRAW – 15/4 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: Away team (Birmingham City) to score – 4/5 Expekt