Birmingham City vs Ipswich Town – Preview

Team News

Blues have Nikola Zigic available after suspension and Papa Bouba Diop may make a start after scoring for the reserves in midweek. Peter Lovenkrands has returned to training and is in contention for a place on the bench.

Ipswich have no knew injury worries but new manager Mick McCarthy may wish to shake things up a bit in his first game in charge.

Last Meeting

The last meeting was in April at Portman Road. The game finished 1-1 with Chris Burke scoring for Blues.

Recent Form

Blues moved up to 17th with the win against Leeds but are only three points behind 10th placed Brighton. They have won two, lost two and drawn two of their last six matches.

Ipswich are four points adrift at the bottom of the table. They have lost their last four games and have gone twelve games without a win.

Outlook

So yet again a struggling side appoints a new manager just before they play us and while it’s only Mick McCarthy it will give them a boost.  It’s a boost they badly need as they have already become a little adrift at the bottom and are favourites for a drop to League One.  Blues on the other hand have had a bit of a minor revival since the international break.  They have remained unbeaten through three tough fixtures and since the abysmal first twenty minutes at Millwall have played well. Unlike the smash and grab raid at Brighton in September they played very well at Leeds and deservedly won the game.  This gives me hope that these results are not a false dawn and that we can push on up the table.

Blues being Blues of course there is always the worry that after a good away win they will fail against the sides at the bottom of the table. On Tuesday we host second bottom Bristol City. On paper though (New manager effect aside) these are games that should propel us up the table and get us talking about the playoffs rather than the relegation zone.  I’m not getting too carried away though as I still believe that until the ownership situation is resolved we will not move forward as a club. At least our injury count is going down. Lee Clark is obviously comfortable with Paul Robinson filling in at right back as he has sent James Hurst back to West Brom.  Robinson is a solid experienced professional but having a left footer at right back does reduce the threat of overlapping runs down the flanks.

For once there shouldn’t be much in the way of selection dilemmas with the defence and the front two picking themselves due to form and a lack of available options. The only decisions need to be made in midfield where only Ravel Morrison could be considered a safe pick. Diop, Fahey and Burke will be pushing for starts with Mullins and Elliot maybe dropping to the bench. Consistency in selection is not something we have been able to see much this year mainly due to injuries but I don’t expect much to change for tomorrow. With no game in midweek there should not be too many tired legs that need a rest and we shouldn’t need to make tactical changes against a team that has lost their last four.

With it being McCarthy’s first game I am hesitant to predict a victory but if the improvements from last week continue then we should be able to just about get the win.

My Prediction

Blues 2 Ipswich 1

C’mon you Blue Boys!