Filed under: Birmingham, Manchester City, Premier League, Football, Match Previews
PREMIER LEAGUE: ST ANDREW'S, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2011. KICK-OFF: 1945 GMTRoberto Mancini must arrest Manchester City's alarming slide in results as their tour of the Midlands continues with a must-win trip to Birmingham on Wednesday night.
Having lost 1-0 to a Darren Bent debut goal at Aston Villa in the Premier League and been held to a 1-1 draw at League One Notts County on Sunday, City now head to St Andrew's for their third successive game in the heart of the country.
Only a win will do for Mancini's men after losing crucial ground to Manchester United in the last round of league fixtures and the gap between the leaders and their local rivals could be even bigger by the time City kick off with Sir Alex Ferguson's team in action against Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Three points are just as vital for Birmingham, however, with Alex McLeish's side facing up to the possibility of kicking off inside the bottom three should Wigan defeat West Brom on Tuesday night.
McLeish has been busy strengthening in the January window, having added Curtis Davies and Obafemi Martins, who could feature after receiving Premier League clearance, to his ranks.
Having enjoyed home victories in the Carling Cup and FA Cup this last week, Birmingham will be aiming to continue their proud record at St Andrew's, where they have lost just twice in the league this term, however City can take heart from an excellent away record with only Arsenal having won on their league travels more times than them this year.
KEY MATCH-UP: Davies v Edin Dzeko. Two signings of the January transfer window are set to go head-to-head as Davies and Dzeko go head-to-head. Davies is a modern centre back who is blessed with pace and is comfortable on the ball but at Villa often suffered for lacking a nasty streak. Birmingham are renowned for relishing the physical side of the game and Davies will be expected to adapt, however should he fail, giant Dzeko has the ability could cause him problems with his power. The striker got his first goal in English football against County at the weekend which will have given him a much-needed confidence boost after a slow start to life in England.
FORM GUIDE: City's defeat to Villa was their first in six games, while Birmingham return to league action after back-to-back victories in the cups. They have won just one of their last eight in the Premier League.
ODDS: Birmingham 7-2, Manchester City 5-6, Draw 12-5
BIRMINGHAM:
Martins has revealed his delight at securing a return to the Premier League after joining on loan until the end of the season from Rubin Kazan.
"Coming back to England, it's a really good thing, I'm very, very excited," said Martins.
"The Premier League is one of the best leagues in the whole world and I've played in it for three years - and the 150 million people in Nigeria wanted me back in it too. Birmingham are a good team and can still do well this season and I hope my joining will help."
And McLeish is thrilled with the business he has been able to do in January.
He said: "I spoke to the press last week and they said, 'Will you get more money for getting to the cup final?' and I said to be honest I don't need any more money if we get the targets we are currently working on.
"The Board have backed us and it's come to fruition. I think it highlights the fact that we do work closely together. I'm happy with the signings we've made in January."
Strategy: McLeish prefers to go with two up front at home but he may be tempted to match City by playing three across the centre of midfield with Barry Ferguson, Lee Bowyer and Craig Gardner all in line for recalls. McLeish will decide on Wednesday whether to include Martins in his 18-man squad.
Injury update: Scott Dann (hamstring) and James McFadden (knee) are long-term absentees.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/02/01/birmingham-v-man-city-preview-edin-dzeko-must-adapt-to-life-in/
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