Birmingham City v West Ham United Premier League preview

Birmingham’s impressive 6 game unbeaten run has moved them into the top half of the Premier League, while West Ham’s poor run sees them lying just above the relegation zone.

Birmingham City

Sebastian Larsson netted two free kicks in Birmingham’s 3-2 victory at Wigan last weekend, straight after we were saying he was due a goal in last weekend’s preview. This weekend we could put forward 10 players in Birmingham’s starting lineup who must be fancied for a goal against a West Ham side who have conceded 14 goals in their last 4 Premier League games. Charles N’Zogbia’s first half strike for Wigan last weekend ended Birmingham’s back-to-back clean sheets. That didn’t put an end to their good form that has seen them pick up 14 points from a possible 18 since they ended a 3 game losing streak with victory over Sunderland at the end of October. They will fancy their chances of extending that run with a good run of games before they host Chelsea on boxing day. Their hard work ans solid defence has built a base for Alex McLeish to work around. Scoring goals has been a problem for them, but Christian Benitez scored the 2nd of his campaign last weekend and wouldn’t be a bad addition to the fantasy team for this game.

Form
DDWWW

Injuries/Suspensions
Stuart Parnaby
Garry O’Connor
Teemu Tainio
Martin Taylor
David Murpthy

West Ham United

I’m not sure what was harder to take for West Ham fans last weekend; conceding 4 at home to Manchester United or failing to score against their makeshift defence that consisted of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra by the end of the game. Either way, Hammers fans are lacking confidence at this point in the season. They’re starting to become relegation contenders with these performances, and things could get even worse for them in the new year if they were forced to sell of some of their better players. Bookmakers have them as high as 5/1 for relegation as of now, but they’re helped out by a number of sides who have big problems making them serious relegation contenders also. The absence of Carlton Cole puts a big dent in the West Ham attack who are hoping to rely on Guillermo Franco and Alessandro Diamanti who are not yet up to the pace of the Premier League. Jack Collison and Scott Parker provide good productivity going forward and they may be leaned on in this game against the solid defensive unit that Birmingham provide. Defensively for West Ham, I expect to see Christian Benitez causing them problems while top scorer Lee Bowyer may be buzzing at the thought of scoring against one of his former sides.

Form
WLDWL

Injuries/Suspensions
Zavon Hines
Valon Behrami
Carlton Cole
Calum Davenport
Dean Ashton
Luis Boa Morte

I like Birmingham is this game and they’re odds-against which is a bonus too. 3 wins in a row, a good defence playing against a Carlton Cole-less West Ham who’s defence has been made to look like a Sunday league team in their last 2 games.

Best bet: Birmingham to win 11/10