Having beaten West Ham and subsequently climbed out of the drop zone, Birmingham will be looking to take advantage of two home fixtures in the upcoming double Gameweek 27. The club may have the Carling Cup Final with Arsenal just around the corner, but the games against Stoke this weekend, then Newcastle the following Tuesday, are just as important to their season as the Wembley run-out.
With Birmingham also playing two matches in Gameweek 29 there will be plenty of Fantasy investment in McLeish’s men, though with no league match in Gameweek 28, careful planning will be needed, particularly for those bringing in two or three Birmingham players.
The Prospects
Birmingham have had a real problem keeping clean sheets in recent times, with the West Ham shut-out, perhaps surprisingly, their first in ten league matches. They may have lost just twice in the league at St Andrews, but a closer look shows they have won only one of their last seven home games; they’ve also averaged just goal per game in home matches this season.
The January window has allowed McLeish to add quality to the first team, though, with the acquisition of David Bentley and Obafemi Martins adding proven Premier League talent to the ranks. Martins will be expected to add much-needed firepower and competition up front, and he could now be unleashed by McLeish having cut through visa red tape and help boost Birmingham’s goal-fetching credentials.
Their first opponents Stoke have failed to score in their last two games on the road and have one of the worst away records in the league, losing eight of twelve away from the Britannia. Having said that, they don’t lose by big margins and have conceded only 18 goals, that’s just a couple more than Man United.
Birmingham will then face a Newcastle side who, despite their brilliant comeback against Arsenal, are a team struggling for form. Alan Pardew’s outfit have failed to win any of their last four games and have one victory and one clean sheet in their four games on the road under their new manager.
Birmingham will fancy their chances of two home wins then, and prospects look pretty decent for returns from both ends of the field.
The Likely Lads
Goalkeeper “Save” points means Ben Foster is always more likely to get higher returns than any of the Birmingham back four; at present, he has scored 18 more Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points than highest-scoring defender Roger Johnson, illustrating his far superior Fantasy consistency. Foster is already the second highest owned goalkeeper; plenty more are set to draft him in before next weekend with his price currently settled at 5.2 in the FPL.
Anyone intent on transferring-in a Birmingham defender, however, could do worse than picking up the aforementioned Roger Johnson. The centre-half has been the most consistent performer in the back four; as well as claiming 2 goals this term, Johnson has been awarded 13 of the 16 Bonus Points given to Birmingham defenders in the season. Johnson can be acquired for 5.1 right now.
Top scorer and club penalty-taker, Craig Gardner has been one of the true successes of this season, following his move from Aston Villa. Gardner grabbed the goal that clinched the Blues’ Cup Final spot and has been a real talisman for McLeish’s side. He’s not one to reap the Bonus Points though. David Bentley has already clocked up more Bonus in four starts for Birmingham than Gardner has all season. Bentley has made the right-wing berth his own since the loan move from Spurs and has shown signs of mirroring his Blackburn form from a couple of years back. His Bonus potential and the consistency of his delivery from the right-flank certainly makes him a consideration.
Cheeky Punt
As mentioned in Sunday’s Scout Notes, Nikola Zigic’s record, when given 90 minutes, is actually fairly respectable; he’s taken part in seven full league games and returned 4 goals and 2 assists, including one in each of his last two starts. McLeish praised him after the vital West Ham win, suggesting that the towering hitman, priced at just 5.3 in the FPL, is finally getting to grips with the English game and is beginning to look like a fixture in the starting XI.
