- May 20, 2005
- 51,646
- 58,072
- Staff
- #1
Banner by Evolution
__________________________________________________
Birmingham City Vs Tottenham Hotspur
Barclays Premier League
Venue: St Andrew's Date: Saturday, 4 December Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Barclays Premier League
Venue: St Andrew's Date: Saturday, 4 December Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Coverage: Watch highlights on Match of the Day; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles
For more on live coverage please visit Geez's Live Media Thread
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2[ar]
Blues look to build on midweek success when Spurs come to town
Birmingham City welcome Tottenham Hotspur to St Andrews this weekend, buoyed by their Carling Cup triumph over rivals Aston Villa.
Spurs' travelling supporters may not find the seating to their liking, largely due to the aftermath that followed Wednesday's quarter-final tie between two of the West Midlands' fiercest foes.
Ugly is a fitting word to describe the scenes that followed Blues' 2-1 victory over Villa, as numerous home supporters took to the pitch and ran directly towards the away end to taunt their opposing fans.
The incident led Alex McLeish to recall English football's "Dark Ages" and while the Scot's fears are sure to be allayed, the incident certainly did not help England's now-humiliated World Cup 2018 bid.
Snatched
McLeish, whose side now play West Ham United for a place in the Wembley showpiece, warm up for that semi-final double-header with another London club in the shape of Tottenham.
Spurs snatched victory at the death when they played Birmingham last season and they are in that kind of mood again, having seen off Liverpool in stoppage time on Sunday.
Harry Redknapp's UEFA Champions League outfit are already through to the knock-out stages of Europe's crème de la crème competition and they can now give the Premier League their undivided attention.
Not that their domestic form is suffering on recent accounts, with three straight wins which has seen them move within a point of fourth-placed Manchester City.
But Blues are also in decent nick - away draws against City and Fulham were impressive but sending Chelsea packing pointless a fortnight ago rubberstamps their credentials ahead of this contest.
Team news
McLeish could keep faith with the side that booked their place in the last four of the Carling Cup. Matchwinner Nikola Zigic picked up a knock at the tail end of the midweek tussle but should be OK for Spurs.
Alexander Hleb missed the Villa victory with a hamstring injury and the on-loan Barcelona playmaker could miss out again, while James McFadden remains a long-term casualty.
One player who could force his way into McLeish's first-team plans is Craig Gardner after he replaced Lee Bowyer in the second-half on Wednesday and impressed after recovering from an ankle injury.
Spurs, meanwhile, have a worrying 11 first-team members doubtful or out of Saturday's fixture.
Redknapp looks set to be without Rafael Van der Vaart for a month after he hurt his troublesome hamstring in last weekend's success over the Reds.
The White Hart Lane tactician also saw Younes Kaboul hurt his hip and he is definitely out of the trip to St Andrews as well.
Van der Vaart and Kaboul join a lengthy casualty list which includes Tom Huddlestone (ankle), Johnathan Woodgate, Ledley King, (both groin) and Jamie O'Hara (back).
Redknapp has Michael Dawson (knee), Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley (both calf), Giovani Dos Santos (abdominal) and Robbie Keane (ankle) all pencilled in to return to fitness this week but it remains to be seen how many make his matchday squad.
The glimmer of light for Spurs is that Jermain Defoe is fully fit and he could make his first league start since August alongside Peter Crouch or Roman Pavlyuchenko.
__________________________________________________
2[ar]
Birmingham's Craig Gardner is in contention to start after making his comeback from injury as a substitute in the midweek win over Aston Villa.
The Blues are without Alexander Hleb for three weeks with a calf strain.
Tottenham's Michael Dawson makes his long-awaited return to the squad after the ankle problem he picked up playing for England in early September.
Injury has ruled Rafael van der Vaart out for three weeks, and Younes Kaboul for a fortnight.
Birmingham
Injured: Hleb (calf), McFadden (knee)
Tottenham
Doubtful: Bentley (calf), Keane (ankle)
Injured: Huddlestone (ankle), Dos Santos, King & Woodgate (all groin), Kaboul (hip), Jenas (calf), O'Hara (back), van der Vaart (hamstring)
2[ar]
The explosive end to Wednesday night's Carling Cup quarter-final victory over Aston Villa tarnished what was a famous derby win for Birmingham City. The FA are bound to come down hard on the Blues following the pitch invasion that led to ugly skirmishes with Villa fans and the police.
Manager Alex McLeish has been keen to direct attention away from the behaviour of the troublemakers and onto the achievements of his players.
While there is nothing sweeter than a triumph over the Villa, he will have swiftly refocused his players on to the club's number one goal at the start of the season - Premier League survival.
Yet again, Tottenham are beset by an injury crisis and manager Harry Redknapp is down to the bare bones. Although these days at White Hart Lane, even the players regarded as the bare bones of his squad are experienced internationals.
Tottenham have 25 full internationals in their ranks, a total matched only by Manchester United, which is a real sign of their increasing threat to the top-flight's elite.
This has also been helped in recent weeks by their growing reputation as the league's comeback kings, and they picked up another three points with a late goal last week against Liverpool. Given that there has been a 90th-minute goal in five of the last six Premier League games between these sides, any fan would be advised not to leave St Andrew's early
Head-to-head
• Tottenham have won just one of their six Premier League matches against Birmingham at St Andrew's.
• But the Blues have only managed to win three out of their 12 Premier League clashes with Tottenham.
• This is the 93rd meeting between the sides. Tottenham have won 44 times, Birmingham 28 and there have been 20 draws.
Birmingham
• City have recorded only two league wins in their last 13 games.
• The Blues have had fewer shots in the Premier League than any other team this season.
• St Andrew's has seen just 12 goals this season, the joint-fewest of any stadium.
• Former Tottenham player Stephen Carr will be making his 450th club career appearance.
Tottenham
• Tottenham have accrued 16 points from losing positions this season, more than any other club in the division.
• Spurs have missed eight of their last 15 penalties in all competitions, and Jermain Defoe has failed to score with five of his last six.
• They have only won one game outside London this season in all competitions (v Stoke).
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Birmingham
Tottenham
Pavyluchenko: 8 goals (4 league)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistant referees: Stuart Burt & Patrick Keane
Fourth official: Mark Clattenburg
__________________________________________________________________
Please support Spurscommunity by buying from our affiliates.
Amazon.co.uk..thetrainline.com..Game..Dell..PC World..Play.com
Tesco.com..HMV..iTunes..Ann Summers..The National Lottery
Links to live streams are not permitted.
Spurscommunity is not responsible for any links to live streams and all such links will be deleted.