Premier League preview: Birmingham v Bolton

Birmingham City midfielder Craig Gardner says he and his team-mates are ‘raring to go’ against Bolton on Saturday.

Alex McLeish?s squad has enjoyed a few days off to recover from 13 games, including the Carling Cup final, in the past two months.

The next two league matches could make or break Birmingham’s season.

They are at home to Bolton on Saturday then away to fellow strugglers Blackburn, before facing tough visits to Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham.

Gardner believes the brief respite of last week has set Blues? players up well for the run-in.

“We had a lot of games in a short time and, not only that, they were massive games what with winning the cup and having six-pointers in the Premier League,” he told the Birmingham Mail.

“So it was nice to have a few days off and recharge the batteries.”

“You can?t switch off completely, of course. You know in the back of your mind that you really need to relax and recharge because the next two months are going to be a hell of a battle.”

“We can?t wait for the Bolton game to come on Saturday. Three points would be a huge confidence-boost and hopefully kick us off on a good run for the rest of the season.”

“It is a very tight league and if we win on Saturday and other results go for us I think we could go up to 13th or 14th in the table.”

Bolton skipper Kevin Davies is equally optimistic about the run home.

“To be in a situation like this is what we all aimed towards when we reported back for pre-season in July,” Davies told the Manchester Evening News.

“We had a couple of years when we put ourselves in contention for the European qualification positions. And that ensured there was an exciting end to the season.”

“We want a similar run-in this season. Certainly if, at the beginning of the campaign, anybody had offered us the position we are in, then we would definitely have taken it.”

“We are in a very promising position and it?s crucial we continue to keep performing.”

And that means taking maximum points from the next two league games against Birmingham City and West Ham United before focusing on an FA Cup semi-final with Stoke City at Wembley on April 17.

Bolton will be without US midfielder Stuart Holden for the next six months.

Holden needed surgery and 26 stitches in a gash in his knee following a challenge with Manchester United defender Jonny Evans at Old Trafford, for which Evans was sent off.

Fabrice Muamba and Daniel Sturridge are fit for the trip to the Midlands after returning from England Under-21 duty.