Scouting The Doubles – Birmingham City

As the remnants of party poppers are swept away and crystal champagne glasses packed into boxes, the elation of being crowned Carling Cup champions will have faded for Birmingham boss Alex McLeish rather quickly. His side are still precariously teetering over the relegation zone and have far from avoided the drop.

The Blues currently sit in 16th in the Premier League, just 2 points above 18th place Wolves. On the back of the Carling Cup euphoria, with two games in hand on those around them and double Gameweek fixtures against West Brom and Everton, Birmingham will look to take advantage and attempt to stave off relegation. Being so tight in the middle of the league, just 7 points separate themselves and 7th placed Bolton, City’s fans could even be dreaming of a top half finish.

The defeat of Arsenal and this double Gameweek has given Fantasy Managers much to consider, as we revisit Birmingham’s low-priced Fantasy potential.

The Prospects

The Blues have scored the fewest goals in the Premier League this season, just 25, so don’t ask for your money back if Nikola Zigic doesn’t produce a hat-trick. But they slightly make up for their attacking frailties with a somewhat tougher defensive record, conceding a acceptable 35 this term.

McLeish and co welcome West Brom to the Second City, for the opener of the double. It’s on home soil where Birmingham have performed best this season in the Premier League, winning 19 of their 30 points. But they have drawn 7 of their 14 games in front of the St Andrews faithful, a statistic that they’ll be hoping to improve upon against the Baggies.

The Baggies haven’t got off to the start they may have imagined since Roy Hodgson took over, drawing their last three fixtures. Indeed, they’ve only won once in their last 12 Premier League outings. West Brom have managed just a couple of wins on the road this season and have conceded an almighty 30 goals in the process. McLeish will certainly see this as points lost if his side fail to earn the victory.

Birmingham clearly find points harder to come by on their travels, and Goodison Park is proving to be somewhat of a fortress as of late; Everton have won 2 and drawn 3 of their last five games there. However, McLeish’s men will surely look to capitalise on the Toffees’ loss of confidence after they suffered a humiliating defeat to Reading in the FA Cup. A draw would certainly suffice here, but don’t write the Blues off from stealing an unlikely win.

The Likely Lads

Many Fantasy Managers will be feeling the effects of Robin Van Persie’s latest injury. With Birmingham striker Nikola Zigic being granted double the chances this gameweek and 3 goals in his last four Premier League games, the RVP void could be filled with by the giant from Serbia. Valued at just 5.3 on the FPL game, he could free up some funds for other areas in your team.

England goalkeeper Ben Foster is a solid pick between the posts. The Birmingham defence have found some form recently which has seen Foster keep 2 clean sheets in his last three outings. Priced at 5.2 on the FPL game, he is certainly worth a punt and with an ownership of 23.8%, his potential is hardly going unnoticed.

Elsewhere in the defence, Roger Johnson is the most obvious choice. The centre-back hasn’t missed a minute of Premier League action for the Blues, chipping in with 2 goals, an assist and 14 bonus points in the process. Johnson has apparently shaken off the effects of calf and knee injuries sustained in Sunday’s Wembley final and would seem set to start both games.

Martin Jiranek is an alternative, he gives you a cheaper option in the Birmingham defence at 4.5 and is a ‘differential’ with just 0.01% ownership. Although yet to catch the eyes of the FPL bonus judges, the Czech international has put in some highly praised performances.

Craig Gardner offers the most attacking threat from a Birmingham midfield lacking much Fantasy excitement, having contributed 5 goals. Gardner is regarded as an injury doubt going into the weekend, as is Barry Ferguson. The Scot is a steady choice for the Blues and continues to mop up the bonus points, collecting 21 so far this season – he rarely threatens to score more than 6 points however, so his selection is a conservative measure and a risk given the latest injury news from St Andrews. David Bentley, set to be recalled after being ineligible for the Carling Final, could well be the most secure option within the Birmingham midfield.

Cheeky Punt

Carling Cup hero Obafemi Martins could be worth a gamble. Although the Nigerian international has only featured twice in the Premier League for Birmingham, he has proven experience from his time with Newcastle. He will be in high spirits after his last minute winner against Arsenal and at 5.3 in the game he could turn out to be an FPL bargain.