Prediction: West Ham vs Birmingham

5th February 2011

The Hammers boosted their survival chances thanks to an impressive victory over Blackpool and they finally have a chance to escape the relegation zone. Birmingham slipped into the bottom three for the first time this season, meaning the Blues cannot afford to lose this game.

Every time West Ham had a chance to leave the relegation zone this season they would find a way to disappoint their fans, so everyone at the club are hoping that will not happen again. Led by red hot Victor Obinna, ever impressive Scott Parker and new signing Robbie Keane, West Ham recorded back to back wins over Nottingham Forest and Blackpool, catching the last train towards safety. The Hammers have finally restored some of the lost confidence and seem to have the team capable of avoiding the drop, but they will have to show that against Birmingham, in a classic relegation six-pointer. New signings Keane, Bridge and O’Neil have added an extra quality to the side and I can definitely see West Ham winning this one. Danny Gabiddon and Manuel Da Costa remain injury doubts, while Collison, Hitzlsperger, Dyer, Kurutz and Stanislas remain on the sidelines.

Even when Birmingham started struggling at the start of this year’s Premiership campaign not too many people believed they would enter the title race as the Blues had kept the squad from previous season and even reinforced it last summer. However, while team’s defensive stayed nearly the same as last term, Alex McLeish was unable to find the cure for the lack of goals, and Brum now boast the worst scoring record in the league. Lack of composure in front of the opponent’s goal is the main reason behind team’s disappointing results and that is why the boss decided to gamble on Obafemi Martins, who had failed miserably at Rubin Kazan. The mere fact that McLeish is considering Martins for a start even though he is yet to return from Nigeria proves how desperate the Scotsman is. Injuries to Barry Ferguson, Cameron Jerome and Roger Johnson only add to the worries as they are all major doubts for this clash.

Conclusion

West Ham have seen a major uptrend in form lately with the arrival of new players only one of the reasons for that. Impressive performances of players like Parker, Noble and Obinna also played a part, so I am prepared to back West Ham to beat out-of-form Birmingham and thus pay them back for the Carling Cup elimination.

Verdict: Home win West Ham (1)

Best Odds: 11/10

Bookmaker: Victor Chandler