Team News
Blues don’t have any new injury problems but surely the manager must consider making changes after two straight defeats. I would expect Fahey to be dropped with McFadden returning to the left and Benitez starting up front.
Arsenal are without a host of players and will also be missing Thomas Vermaelan through suspension. There is a doubt as to whether Birmingham old boy Niklas Bendtner will be fit as well.
Last Meeting
Our last meeting took place in October and ended with a comfortable 3-1 win to Arsenal who were two up early on. Blues could have secured an unlikely point though as we had a number of chances to make it 2-2 before Andrei Arshavin got the third late on.
Recent Form
Blues come into this one having lost the last two but all our recent defeats have been away from home. We are still unbeaten at home since September.
Arsenal are the form team of the league with six wins from their last six games. They have now re-invigorated their title challenge and sit only two points from the top of the league.
Outlook
So it’s Arsenal, just what we need now that we have forgotten how to defend properly! If we start this game like the last few we could be four down after twenty minutes instead of the usual two. On the positive side they are missing both Gallas and Vermaelan at the back so they will also not be as strong defensively. Vermaelan will be a big loss as he has been a star for them this season.
So there could be a few goals at St Andrews tomorrow. I hoping that the visit of a big a club will help restore the team’s focus a little as we often raise ourselves for these fixtures. Now that we are safe from relegation and out of the cup there is a feeling that our season is already over and it’s important to keep our standards up. Arsenal will be up for this game and their position in the league means that we can’t hope that they will be distracted by their upcoming Champions League game against Barcelona. Arsene Wenger said this week that he considers that this game is more important to them than Tuesday’s. I’ll read that as Birmingham being bigger than Barcelona although I’m quite sure that’s not what he meant.
The key for us will be to keep it tight early on and then use the pace of Jerome and (If selected) Benitez to trouble their makeshift defence. To be honest though I’m just hoping for a good fun game with lots of attacking play and for us not to end up on the wrong end of a hiding. Arsenal are a good team to watch and I hope we choose to play with freedom against them rather than just “Park the bus”. Bowyer and Ferguson will need to keep things tight in midfield and keep a close eye on Fabregas as everything Arsenal do goes through him. I’m looking forward to watching him tomorrow as I think along with Rooney he is the best player in the Premiership. Of course I hope he doesn’t get to show it too often tomorrow.
I have no idea what to predict in this one so as my predictions are usually always wrong I’ll go for an Arsenal victory.
Blues 1 Arsenal 3.
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