birmingham city

Saturday 29th October

Norwich v Blackburn

Both Norwich and Blackburn were expected to be fighting relegation this season but the Canaries are riding high in the top half whilst Rovers are currently propping up the foot of the table, they meet at Carrow Road tomorrow.

Paul Lambert is as astute as they come. He has worked under some fantastic managers during his playing career in the shape of Ottmar Hitzfeld and Martin O’Neill. The fact he sat his coaching badges whilst he was still playing meant that he could take a managerial job earlier than most. He has steadily progressed since taking the Livingston job in 2005 and he’s yet another Scottish manager plying his trade in the Premier League. Norwich has to wait until September to get their first win of the season but they have barely looked back since.A battling 2-0 loss at Old Trafford against Manchester United is their only loss in their last five matches so they seemed to have adjusted well to life in England’s top flight. Last weekends 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield would have been a massive boost as it proved to everyone connected with the club that they do deserve to be in the Premier League and they are capable of competing against the better sides, even away from home.

Blackburn have struggled for much of the campaign and manager Steve Kean has been under intense pressure from his own fans. Kean, however, does have the backing of the owners and a 4-3 extra time win over Newcastle in the League cup during the week would have helped his case and he will hope that his players can push on and carry their cup form, which has taken them to the quarter finals, into league duty – starting this weekend. Rovers have won just once from their first nine games, losing six of them, so they need to be harder to beat so that when they don’t play well, they can still pick up the odd point, especially on their travels. Last time out against Tottenham they lost an early goal but Kean will be satisfied with their immediate response as they got back into it only to lose it in the second half. Their last away match was their second draw on the road this season when they played another of the promoted clubs, QPR. A repeat of that wouldn’t be the worst in the world but Kean knows they need to start winning games to move off the bottom of the table.

Norwich have already seen off Sunderland and Swansea at home and look to be getting stronger as the season goes on. It can’t be underestimated how important it is for sides who have been promoted to get points on the board early so the fact they are coming into their own after a few games will be pleasing for Lambert who is sticking to his principals and playing attractive football with plenty of width in the side.

It may be to early to say this is a must win for Steve Kean but he is under pressure to deliver results. Managers rarely last long when the fans have turned against them and the only way to win them back is to get instant results. A bad result tomorrow and the knives will be out again.

Norwich are the side in form and were worth a point last week. It will be a different type of game tomorrow as the last couple of home matches will mean the crowd will be expecting them to go at Blackburn and gain another three points. Confidence is high at Carrow Road and I can see them being victorious again.

My Selection: Norwich to beat Blackburn

Best odds available: 21/20 available with PaddyPower

English Championship

Birmingham v Brighton

There were two divisions between Birmingham and Brighton at this stage last season but one relegation and one promotion means they meet tomorrow in the Championship and St Andrews.

Chris Hougton had an unenviable task when made manager of Birmingham City in the summer as the club had to get rid of their best players to pay large debts which so many clubs suffer as a result of a relegation from the Premier League. A shaky start to the season was to be expected such was the turnover of players and with the quality of some of those who left. However things are definitely looking a lot brighter for the Blues both at home and in Europe. Birmingham have actually won their last six matches in all competitions, four in the league and two away victories in the Europa League. The four wins in the league have been even more impressive as they have come against some of the bigger clubs in the league such as Leeds, Leicester and Nottingham Forest. Hougton will be demanding that his players continue to give their all and improve the chances of promotion challenge come the end of the season. Tomorrow’s match takes on significant importance despite being so early in the season as they can move into the play-off positions with a win and would have at least one game in hand over most sides as well.

Brighton were the opposite to Birmingham as they had a very positive close season after running away with the League One title last season Moving to a new Stadium added to the Euphoria whilst the signing of quality players such as Craig Mackail-Smith and Vicente was the icing on the top. This good feeling carried over to the start of the season as they were unbeaten in their first eight matches in all competitions, a run of form which yielded seven wins a draw. With form like that they had many people thinking of a second automatic promotion (something Norwich achieved last season), including their own fans. Unfortunately for the Seagulls fans things have tailed off in recent weeks as they haven’t won in their last eight matches – losing five of them. Poyet’s problems were further increased after influential midfielder Gary Dicker was carried off in their most recent defeat against West Ham on Monday night.

Birmingham have played five games at St Andrews in the league and have won four of them. The only team who have come away with anything were Barnsley who were only denied by a late Chris Burke goal. Home form is always important in the Championship so Hougton will be pleased that his side are difficult to beat on their own ground and will be determined to continue that tomorrow.

Brighton will be hoping that their good football and excellent passing game can provide something this week. They had an incredible amount of possession on Monday night but chances were few and far between for having so much of the play. West Ham got an early goal and basically sat on their lead inviting their opponents on to them. Brighton were not up to the challenge that night so Poyet must decide whether he changes something or sticks with what has gotten them so far over the last 12 months.

Birmingham have a bang in form striker with Chris Wood scoring four goals in his last five matches and he will be up against a side he was on loan at last season. Brighton may well be wishing they still had him as they have scored just three goals in their last five games. A team that can’t score can’t win games so I’m taking Brum to notch their seventh successive victory tomorrow.

My Selection: Birmimgham to beat Brighton

Best odds available: 11/10 available with Ladbrokes

English League One

Preston v BournemouthTen points and 12 places in the table seperate Preston and Bournemouth but there are few easy games in League one and the away side will be hoping to upset the odds tomorrow at Deepdale.

Phil Brown is one of the more colourful characters in the game and there’s rarely a dull moment when he’s around. He can also produce a team to challenge in both League One and the Championship which is what he’s doing with Preston North End. He couldn’t save them from relegation last season but he’s been charged with the task of getting them straight back into the Championship at the first time of asking. A run of six straight victories and seven out of eight was enough to put them into contention for automatic promotion but things have stalled of late and they are without a win in their last five league games. It means they currently sit out of the play-off zone but their is a long way to go and recent performances have certainly not been terrible – they have also played two of the current top four so although there is plenty of room for improvement to get to that stage there has been enough shown thus far to be optimistic. Their home form is pretty strong as they have won four of their seven matches at Deepdale and are scoring plenty of goals with an average of more than two goals per game at home.

Bournemouth are in their second season in League One and as is common in these leagues, they are finding the second season more difficult than the first. Eddie Howe, who led them to the division, has obviously left for pastures new and the role of manager was handed to Lee Bradbury who was a player at the time. His side currently sit in the relegation zone but with the league being so tight throughout, a couple of wins could see them leap right up the table. It’s trying to find consistency which is the problem for the Cherries as they have won back to back games just once this season. They are difficult to beat however as they have lost just one of their last six matches which will definitely be a source of comfort for Bradbury and the Bournemouth supporters who will both be keen to move away from the relegation picture as soon as possible.

Bournemouth have performed better on the road this season compared to at home so the visit to Preston will not hold too many fears for them. Wins against Leyton Orient and Exeter will have bolstered their confidence when playing on their travels and Bradbury will be hoping for more of the same.

Preston’s only other defeat other than Sheffield United was against Colchester back in August so it promises to be an entertaining game for those attending. Neil Mellor and Iain Hume have forged a good partnership and will be hoping their goals can get their side back on to the winning trail.

I don’t think there will be much in it but I’m going for another home win here.

My Selection: Preston to beat Bournemouth

Best odds available: 10/11 available with Skybet

The strong British presence in the Europa League has caused a clash in the play off stage as the teams vie for a place in the Group Stage. Tottenham Hotspur will square off against Scottish Premier League side Hearts for a place in the competition proper. After tasting the highs of Champions League football last season and impressing many, Tottenham have come back down to earth with a bump and now have to negotiate their way through qualifying for UEFA’s second tier tournament. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is a little concerned that endeavours in the prolonged tournament is going to take away a lot from their challenge in the Premier League. So it will be interesting to see how Tottenham do this year. They surely won’t pass up the chance of silverware, as they will be one of the front runners to take the Europa League title this year.

Last season’s defeat FA Cup finalists Stoke City, making their foray into the Europa League, scored a great victory over Croatian Hajduk Split to move into the final play off round. Tony Pulis now takes his men on to face FC Thun from Switzerland for a place in the main stage of the competition. Also joining Stoke in the final play off round, is Fulham who safety negotiated their way past RNK Split this week. The Craven Cottage crew, now under the guidance of Martin Jol, will face a long trip to the Ukraine as they take on Dnipro. Birmingham City, who were relegated but made their way to the Europa League after winning the Carling Cup will take on Nacional from Portugal. There were worries that Birmingham’s dire financial situation would prevent them from playing in the Europa League, but they were granted licence to do so by UEFA. Glasgow Rangers will also be putting in an appearance in the Europa League Play Off draw, as they face Maribor from Slovenia, while Scottish Premier League rivals Celtic have a trip to Switzerland to battle it out with Sion. Ireland will be represented by Shamrock Rovers as they face Partizan.

So there are huge British football betting opportunities for you in the Europa League at the moment. Sadly we will have to lose at least one British side with the interesting Tottenham v Hearts clash on the cards. The Europa League is a long test of endurance over the season, but many are fancying Tottenham to do the business and they are the favourites out of the British entrants to lift the trophy this year. But the stiffest opposition in the way will come from the Spaniards Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. We will present the latest outright Europa League betting odds below, but remember that third placed teams from the Champions League group stage join the competition at a later stage as well.

Europa League Winner Odds
Sevilla: 12/1 at SkyBet
Atletico Madrid: 14/1 at Boylesports
Paris St Germain: 14/1 at Totesport
Tottenham: 14/1 at Blue Square
Roma: 16/1 at Paddy Power
Lazio: 20/1 at Stan James

Other British Europa League Winner Odds
Fulham: 40/1 at SkyBet
Celtic: 66/1 at Victor Chandler
Stoke City: 100/1 at Victor Chandler
Hearts: 150/1 at Totesport
Birmingham City: 150/1 at Paddy Power

Europa League Play Off Draw involving British Clubs
Hearts v Tottenham
Maribor v Rangers
Dnipro v Fulham
Sion v Celtic
Nacional v Birmingham
FC Thun v Stoke
Shamrock Rovers v Partizan
 

Four teams beginning with the letter ‘W’ and three teams beginning with the letter ‘B’ make up the seven sides that will be scrapping against relegation between now and the end of the season.

Blackpool’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday night means that the Tangerines are now the second favourites for the drop, with the bookies quick to slash the odds on Ian Holloway’s team. A few weeks ago, you could have got 3/1 about the seaside club and now the best price is even money (bet365).

Blackpool’s next Premier League match is a trip to Ewood Park to face another side who are firmly at the wrong end of the table and Rovers have lost four of their last five matches. Perhaps they will be made to pay for sacking Sam Allardyce midway through the season and Steve Kean has been given the dreaded vote of confidence.

Blackburn were available at 12/1 for the drop when Allardyce was relieved of his duties, although those odds have now shrunk to 10/3 with bet365 and the Lancashire side are just two points above the relegation zone.

The third ‘B’ in a pickle is Birmingham City, the Carling Cup winners who seemed drained when it came to facing West Brom last Saturday and their 3-1 defeat means that Alex McLeish’s team now occupy a berth in the dreaded drop zone.

McLeish is worried that a long season might be taking its toll, especially as they remain in the FA Cup with a quarter final match at home to Bolton taking place this weekend. Wednesday’s trip to Everton is more important and City are 5/2 (Sportingbet) to be relegated.

However, it is the four teams beginning with the letter ‘W’ that are among the first five in the Premier League relegation betting and the writing appears to be on the wall for Wigan Athletic.

Roberto Martinez’s team are now four points adrift of safety with an inferior goal difference to the teams directly above them and the Latics will need to win five of their remaining nine matches to stand any chance of survival. The best odds about them being relegated is 2/7 with bet365.

It was West Ham United that seemed doomed at the start of 2011 and the board allegedly tried to bring in Martin O’Neill to replace Avram Grant, although the latter remains in charge and has seen his team comprehensively beat Liverpool and Stoke.

The Hammers aren’t out of the woods by a long stretch and a Birmingham draw / win at Goodison Park would leave them back in the bottom three. Perhaps they are a value bet to go down at odds of 13/8 (Coral).

Then we have the two Black Country teams – West Brom and Wolves. The Baggies have made a decent start under Roy Hodgson, having collected five points from three matches and they are out to 15/8 (Skybet) for relegation. Wanderers are shorter at 5/4 (Skybet).

The punters who lumped on the Tangerines to go down at the start of the season will have been getting seriously worried about their bets after Blackpool went and won at Sunderland over the Christmas period.

However, Ian Holloway’s team have struggled to land enough points at Bloomfield Road and sit just four points off the relegation zone after Tuesday night’s home defeat against Birmingham City. It has prompted the bookies to start slashing their odds on the seaside club and Stan James now offer a best price 3/1 that Blackpool return to the Championship.

One thing in Blackpool’s favour is that they have games in hand to elevate themselves back up the table, while there are plenty of other teams scrapping it out for survival. West Ham United got themselves out of the drop zone last weekend, although Wednesday’s 5-0 thrashing at Newcastle means the Hammers are back in 20th position.

There are rumours that Avram Grant could be on his way after such a heavy defeat and Paddy Power now offer 8/11 that the east London side are relegated this season. It will be interesting to see what effect that result at St James’ Park had on morale against a former West Ham manager.

Alan Pardew is enjoying himself as manager of Newcastle and the Toon Army don’t seem as angry about the fact that he replaced Chris Hughton as manager a few short weeks ago. Their team now sit eighth in the table and Victor Chandler now go as big as 12/1 that the Magpies are relegated.

It’s developing into a similar story at Blackburn, where Steve Kean is doing a fine job since Sam Allardyce was strangely removed from his post before Christmas. A midweek 3-1 win over Liverpool has shunted Rovers well clear of danger and the Lancashire side are now 9/1 (Victor Chandler) for the drop.

However, it’s bunching up at the bottom after Wolves pulled a rabbit out of the hat to beat Chelsea. Mick McCarthy’s team have been written off several times this season, although Wanderers’ win at Anfield and against the champions have given them every chance of staying afloat for the second season running. Even so, Coral offer 5/6 that there are tears at Molineux on the final day of the season.

Wigan (4/5 Paddy Power) remain odds-on and continue to struggle for wins, although West Brom are the team truly on the slide and the Baggies are now 11/4 (Betfred) after a bright start to the campaign has turned into a string of defeats. Birmingham City (4/1 Coral) are another team who face a scrap during the winter and spring months, while Aston Villa are now 4/1 (bet365) to be relegated, having been a bigger price than this to finish in the bottom half at the start of the season.

One team that nobody is linking with relegation is Liverpool, who are on offer at 40/1 with Victor Chandler. That’s despite the fact that they sit just four points clear of the relegation zone and aren’t exactly displaying the form that might get them away from trouble at the moment!

Arsenal are outright favourites to win the Carling Cup in your football betting, after progressing through the semi finals with a midweek 2-0 victory over Wigan. The semi final draw has seen them paired up with Championship side Ipswich. Arsene Wenger will grab this opportunity with both hands now, as Manchester United crumbled out of the competition in a 4-0 defeat away at West Ham United. That was the real last threat to Arsenal and their hope of ending their silverware drought by winning the Carling Cup, a tournament which they have won twice before. They have landed a favourable draw against the lowest side left in the competition, Roy Keane’s Ipswich. Ipswich, who are struggling for a bit of form in the Championship, saw off Premier League opposition in the form of West Brom, to secure their place in the semi finals. Out of the four remaining combatants, Ipswich are the only team who have not tasted League Cup final action.

The other semi final will see Birmingham take on West Ham. The Hammers produced a fantastic, and completely unexpected result against tournament favourites Manchester United on Tuesday night. Granted, United did not have a full strength side out, but the Hammers really put them to the sword. United’s second string was completely invisible, and that will have been the brightest spark in West Ham’s season so far. Birmingham saw of Midlands rivals Aston Villa at St Andrews, by a 2-1 scoreline, and if Arsenal get past Ipswich, then they will fancy their chances against either of those in the Carling Cup final at Wembley. The semi finals of the Carling Cup are played over two legs, with the first legs being played during the week of January 10th. The second legs will played a fortnight later.

Carling Cup Outright Winner Betting Odds

Arsenal: 4/7 at Stan James
Birmingham: 9/2 at Paddy Power
West Ham United: 5/1 at Unibet
Ipswich Town: 16/1 at Bodog

Carling Cup Semi Final First Leg Ante Post Prices at Bwin

Ipswich: 5/1,  Draw: 58/19, Arsenal: 5/11

West Ham: 11/10, Draw: 11/5, Birmingham: 11/5

Birmingham City v Aston Villa Betting Tip & Odds: At first glance there really doesn’t appear to be much to separate these teams. However, dig just a little bit deeper and you may well be leaning towards an Aston Villa away win for this one. Thehttp://www.online-betting.me.uk/links/, even though it should be another tight match between two organised sides. There are probably not going to be chances galore, but for reasons explained below, Villa are the tip to go with on this one. Astpn Villa 0 Asian Handicap 6/5 at Victor Chandler

Birmingham City to win: 7/5 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 9/4 at Bet365
Aston Villa to win: 9/4 at William Hill

Carling Cup Match Preview: There’s a very entertaining Midlands derby prospect happening at St Andrews on Wednesday, with a Birmingham v Aston Villa Carling Cup quarter final match. When the word “interesting” crops up to describe a football match, then it is because the two teams are evenly matched and there really isn’t all that much to say about either of them. Such is the case of Birmingham and Aston Villa, who sit together in the Premier League table. They both have seventeen points from their fifteen matches, and when the two sides met in the league earlier this season, it played out to an expected 0-0 draw. That really was no surprise and not too hard to call in your football betting, and this is probably where you should be heading again for this one. The two sides are evenly matched, as both have decent defensive systems, and both teams work hard for the ball. However, neither of them are really as good as they would like to be at the moment, especially Villa, who really are failing to keep pace with the top six, where they were expected to be hovering around. Anyway, this is the Carling Cup, a semi final place is at stake, so there is a call to be more adventurous.

If you are looking for adventure in these two teams, then you will need to point your magnifying glass towards Aston Villa, because that is where you will find the bulk of it. Villa were expected to be able to maintain a stronger, more consistent challenge in the top half of the table, especially with the experience that boss Gerard Houllier could bring to the table. However, with just one win their last eight games, it’s easy to see the problem. They just have not got that extra cutting edge need to turn one point into three. They are still a tough side to break down, because four of those eight matches have ended in drawn games, however, they are now on a two match losing skid after being outgunned by Arsenal on the weekend. However, they are the side which should carry the bigger threat, because they play quite good football. Villa do play with some good width, which serves them well, but they are just a little to conservative to be a great side. They do not have the firepower up front, although the return of Gabriel Agbonlahor to fitness will only help them. In this one though, their limited attack may just be enough. It should just be the kind of game which suits them. One in which they can do a smash and grab job.

Birmingham, to little surprise again, come into the match on the back of a draw. That is their eighth of the season in the Premier League, and just like Midlands neighbours Villa, cannot find the cutting edge. These two teams last season were very hard to beat, but both are just that little bit more vulnerable this year, and they are finding it hard to get that extra attacking gear when needed. So this is two evenly matched teams, and will Villa’s extra attacking quality be negated by Birmingham, who have home advantage? While you look at the two sides and see a lot of similarities in quality, there is one football betting influence which should grab your attention. That is, the fact that Villa have won six of the last seven matches against Birmingham City, and the only blemish there was a 0-0 draw in the league last season. That’s a big shot in the arm for your betting on Aston Villa, plus they have done pretty well at St Andrews. Birmingham have a 38% win percentage against Villa at home, but Villa have a close 37% win percentage when visiting Birmingham, and that is a pretty good record. It’s certainly one to take notice of in your betting. The last time the two sides met in the League Cup was back in 1994 when Villa won both legs 1-0. That is a plausible scoreline again here, as neither team will give too much away, so it could all come down to that one moment of glory for someone.

Last 5 Head to Head
Aston Villa 0, Birmingham 0
Aston Villa 1, Birmingham 0
Birmingham 0, Aston Villa 1
Aston Villa 5, Birmingham 1
Birmingham 1, Aston Villa 2

Birmingham v Chelsea Betting Tip & Odds: The stats between the two sides are fairly even when it comes to the Birmingham v Chelsea fixture. Birmingham have won 33% of the matches at St Andrews, while Chelsea just edge the head to head there with a 37% win percentage. That leaves a lot of ground for a draw, which has to be looked at here. Chelsea are reeling from defeat last weekend, and from serious injury problems at the club. Two wins in the last three is not good enough, and trips to St Andrews are generally fraught with close matches. Of the last three matches there, two have been nil-nil draws, and sandwiched in-between was a 1-0 victory for Chelsea. It is hard to see a major backlash by the wounded Chelsea, therefore, have to lean towards a draw. Birmingham +0.5 Asian Handicap 6/5 at Paddy Power.

Birmingham to win: 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Draw: 11/4 at Totesport
Chelsea to win: 8/11 at Bet365

EPL Match Preview: Chelsea will be looking to pick up the pieces of their title campaign, after they suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge against Sunderland last weekend. After going unbeaten at home all season, no-one expected Sunderland to roll into to town and completely tear the league champions apart so emphatically. It was simply one of the best performances by any team in the league all season, and Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea had no answer, and suffered their third loss of the season. Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League is now down to just two points from Arsenal. That was a big missed opportunity for Chelsea, after seeing Manchester United drop points away at Aston Villa. Who really wants to win the Premier League this season? All three of the big teams in England are struggling to find great consistency and top form, and now Chelsea face a much more difficult trip to St Andrews to take on Birmingham that it possibly should have been. Carlo Ancelotti has not lost back to back games since taking over as Chelsea boss, and one has to wonder how much their confidence has been dented. With two defeats in their last three matches now, and perhaps just as significantly, only one goal in those three matches, has the Chelsea defence of the Premier League title come off the rails? If the other teams around them were showing any kind of consistency, then you have to think so, but Chelsea are still top of the league somehow, and we could be in for another exciting season full of twists and surprises. After Ray Wilkins losing his position as assistant coach, Chief Scout Michael Emanalo has been promoted to the position of Carlo Ancelotti’s right hand man.

Birmingham were one of the toughest teams to face away in the Premier League last season, yet the Midlands side have only managed to find the back of the net in three of the last twelve meetings against Chelsea. That should give Chelsea some optimism, but Carlo Ancelotti has serious problems in his defence. John Terry can no longer carry on because of nerve problems in his leg, and is suspected to be absent for at least a couple of months. Center half partner Alex is also out through injury though, leaving just Branislav Ivanovic, usually a left back, to fill in and so the Chelsea back line is seriously depleted. With Paulo Ferreira looking a little out of sort, promising youngster Jeffrey Bruma may finally get a chance. The mainstays of Chelsea’s team, namely Frank Lampard, John Terry, Alex and Michael Essien are all absent, and the depth of the Chelsea squad is really being stretched. The goals have dried up for Malouda, Drogba and Anelka in the league, and that is because they aren’t getting the kind of service they are used to from the midfield. Summer signing Ramires is looking more and more lost as the season goes on, and Ancelotti may again have to turn to youth in the highly touted Josh McEachran. Team selection is becoming a problem for Chelsea, who didn’t spend in the summer, and now they may finally pay the price for not beefing up their squad a little bit. However, they face a Birmingham side who are much more fragile than they were last season, and the away side will be keen to break out of their slump with a flourish.

Alex McLeish’s Birmingham are sitting in the relegation zone after just two wins all season. Birmingham have drawn seven of their thirteen matches this season though, and their defence still really isn’t all that bad. The biggest problem for them again is in the scoring department, when they average just over one goal per match. There is a bizarre little streak going on at Birmingham City when they are home, and that is, on the three occasions when they have scored, they have hit two goals at home, other than that, they don’t score. Is that a good omen to follow for your Birmingham v Chelsea betting? If they score, then Birmingham hit two or none at all at St Andrews. Because Birmingham run a really tight ship on the pitch, they have caused England’s best teams some problems over the past couple of season. In their last seven matches against the Big Four, Sunderland have picked up draws in them, including a 0-0 draw against Chelsea in last season’s corresponding fixture. With Chelsea struggling to find the creativity in the middle of the park, and with Birmingham’s poor goal scoring record, is another draw on the cards? Just to add fuel on the drawn fixture fire, Chelsea haven’t scored in three of their last four away matches. St Andrews is still no easy place to go to, as Birmingham have lost just one of their last 21 home matches in the Premier League. Birmingham may also be without leading scorer Craig Gardner for the match as well, and will miss his drive and enthusiasm in taking the game to Chelsea. Has the defeat by Sunderland leveled the playing field in the Premier League even more this season? Certainly Alex McLeish is pretty confident that his side can do more damage to Chelsea’s title hopes, and the London Blues could just be ripe for the picking. Is there another major upset on the cards? A Draw No Bet on Birmingham for 3/1 at Victor Chandler is certainly worth considering.

Online bookmaker promotion. As this match has every chance of ending up another 0-0 draw, it will be worth checking out Stan James for their Goalscorer cash back offer. Just a place a bet on any goalscorer market for the match, and if it ends up as 0-0 (which two of the last three meetings have done at St Andrews) then Stan James will refund your money as a free bet. That is great coverage really on a match like this, and it covers any goalscorer market listed on Stan James. So for example, if you take Nicolas Anelka for 11/10 at Anytime Goalscorer and the match ends 0-0, then you haven’t lost anything.  New customers to the online bookmaker can also get a free £25 matched bet when they open a new account with the reputable bookie!

Birmingham City v Chelsea Premier League Statistics

Last 5 Head to Head
Chelsea 3, Birmingham 0
Birmingham 0, Chelsea 0
Birmingham 0, Chelsea 1
Chelsea 3, Birmingham 2
Birmingham 0, Chelsea 0

Birmingham City have an 33% win percentage at home in the league this season
Chelsea have a 50% win percentage away from home in the league this season

Birmingham City have scored 6 goals, and conceded 5 at home
Chelsea have scored 11 and conceded 5 goals in their away matches

Birmingham City have scored the bulk of their goals in the 61-75 minute bracket
Chelsea have scored the majority of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket

Birmingham City have opened the scoring in 30% of their matches
Chelsea have scored first in 61% of their matches

Birmingham City average 1 goals per match at home this season
Chelsea average 1.8 goals per match away from home this season

Birmingham City are on a 2 game streak at home with no defeat
Chelsea are on a 2 game streak with no draw away from home

Birmingham City 2010/11 top scorer: Jerome, Gardner, Ridgwell, 3
Chelsea 2010/11 top scorer: Malouda, 7

Birmingham City 2010/11 Season Form: P13 W2 D7 L4 GF14 GA17 Pts 13 (18th)
Chelesa 2010/11 Season Form: P13 W9 D1 L3 GF28 GA8 Pts 28 (1st)

The snow has been falling in the UK for over a week, creating havoc up and down the country. Only two Premier League matches survived the weather on Saturday, with Arsenal managing to get their game on with Everton and Birmingham managing to successfully host champions Manchester United. Perhaps the Gunners wish they hadn’t bothered trying so hard after needing a deflected Tomas Rosicky effort to nick a draw against the Toffees. While Arsene Wenger had plenty of players out injured (not to mention Alexandre Song and Emmanuel Eboue at the African Nations Cup), it’s possible that the snow teeming down at the Emirates was a factor in David Moyes’ men nearly landing the spoils.

Similarly, at St Andrews later that day, Birmingham managed to continue their unbeaten run by drawing with Manchester United. While the Red Devils dominated possession in the first half, they only created one clear-cut chance, with their desire to pass the ball quickly suffering due to the bobbling pitch. Although the under soil surface was in operation, the grass was easily torn under the player’s studs and it undoubtedly played into the hands of the home side, who could have won the game at the death.

Last week, we saw Stoke City race into a three-goal lead at half-time in their match with Fulham, an example of a visiting team being ‘caught cold’ quite literally! There is unlikely to be another occasion where the Cottagers are 3-0 down at the break this season and much of this is surely down to the sub-zero temperatures, the break in training routines and the mental uncertainty of whether a match is likely to go ahead. It happened at Elland Road as well, where Leeds just couldn’t get going against a Wycombe team fighting for their lives at the foot of the table.

Meanwhile, up in Scotland, Glasgow Rangers somehow conspired to give away a 2-0 lead at Hamilton. The Gers conceded three goals before half-time and needed a second-half penalty to earn a replay. However, the cold weather had nothing to do with Angola surrendering a 4-0 lead against Mali to draw 4-4 in the African Nations Cup!

With the cold weather likely to stick around for the coming weekend, we should be focusing on matches like Stoke v Liverpool, Chelsea v Sunderland and Bolton v Arsenal as matches where a team at big odds-on might not be the ‘dead cert’ they were in August. It has nothing to do with some of the ‘bigger’ clubs having a wide range of nationalities within the squad (especially if some are from Russia or Scandinavia!), but more to do with how team spirit plays a bigger part in a cold climate.

There’s been an exciting development at Paddy Power this season, with the Irish bookmaker thinking outside the box to come up with their ‘Last Man Standing’ competition. Customers pay £10 to enter and have to predict a Premier League team that will win each weekend. If their prediction is correct, then they go through to the next week, although the team(s) that you have previously picked are now unavailable. Each competition continues until there’s only one person left and they will scoop a minimum £10,000 guaranteed prize fund. However, it’s likely to be much larger than that with the event starting to get increasingly popular.

Therefore, you might start off with a Manchester United or Chelsea, although there are pros and cons to selecting these teams right away. Naturally, the top two in the Premier League stand the best chance of winning matches this season, although if you’re prepared to take a risk or two at an early juncture, then you could be selecting the Red Devils or the Blues when other contestants have to decide between a Stoke, a Fulham or even a Bolton.

Paddy Power also give you the option to include the draw on one particular week. For example, you might have gone for Blackburn and the draw last week against Liverpool. However, it’s not worth going for the draw insurance in the first week of the competition as the bookie will give you a free entry into a new competition if you go out in the first round.

Therefore, I have gone for Birmingham City against West Ham as my first pick in the competition. Alex McLeish’s team are looking good at the moment and perhaps I can take advantage of their winning run before it comes to an end. That will leave me with the big teams over Christmas and hopefully Aston Villa can produce an upset at Old Trafford or Chelsea can keep stuttering at home to Everton.

Paddy Power also give you the chance to set up private ‘Last Man Standing’ tournaments with your friends, which is the same idea as playing a freeroll poker tournament. However, like the public competitions, it pays to think long-term when playing against other people. While some of the hot favourites might look enticing now, it is great to have the top teams still available for selection after a handful of weeks. These competitions generally involve hundreds of players so you’ll have to stay in for over 10 weeks to get your hands on the loot!

Everyone’s favourite Irish firm (unless you prefer Boylesports) have also come up with an exciting cashback special on the Liverpool v Arsenal match this Sunday. Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas are two of the best midfielders in the world and, if either of them score the last goal of the game, they will refund all losing First / Last Goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast singles on the match.