Premier League preview: Fulham v Birmingham

Fulham host Birmingham City on Saturday in the knowledge that anything less than a win could send them into the relegation zone.

The Cottagers fell to 17th on the table after being hammered 4-1 by Manchester City last time out, and have won just two of their 14 league matches.

Their last victory came over Wigan Athletic, who could replace Fulham above the drop zone once Saturday’s fixtures have been completed.

Wigan occupy 18th place with 14 points, behind Fulham on goal advantage, and pay a visit to bottom-placed West Ham United this weekend.

Assuming Wigan can take at least a point from the woeful Hammers, Fulham could find themselves inside the relegation zone if they cannot forge a victory against Birmingham.

Birmingham, meanwhile, are coming off an incredible 1-0 win over Chelsea.

Lee Bowyer got on the scoresheet in the 17th minute for the Blues, who held fast to deny the defending champions and improve to 15th on the table with 16 points.

Alex McLeish’s side held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw prior to defeating Chelsea, and have lost just one of their past six league games.

With this in mind it seems form is clearly favouring the visitors, who will fancy themselves a good chance to take at least a point at Craven Cottage.

McLeish certainly seems to think so, indicating after the Chelsea win he feels his side are still on the up and finding their best form.

“It’s so important you don’t get too disappointed with negative results, especially this early in the season,” McLeish said.

“Before the Man City game, and looking ahead to Chelsea, we were tipped to get nought out of six points and go deeper into trouble.”

“But for the players to rise to the challenges, to get four points from those top teams, was quite a phenomenal achievement.”

“I feel this season we haven’t looked out of our depth against anybody. And I do genuinely feel we should have had more points on the board.”

Even if Fulham stave off the relegation zone with a win against the Blues, Mark Hughes’ side faces Arsenal, Sunderland and Liverpool in their next three league clashes.

Despite the obstacles facing them, Hungary international Zoltan Gera says he expects his team-mates to pull together.

“I am sure we will not panic. If we do that it is not good for the team,” Gera said.

“We need to stick together. The league is so tight at the moment, we still have time to pick points up and get out of this zone.”

“I am confident. We know we can do much better and we will do much better in the next two games.”

Complicating matters is Fulham’s lack of strike power.

The Cottagers have been held to a league-high eight draws this term, and are missing strike pair Bobby Zamora and Moussa Dembele to injury.

Clinton Dempsey leads Fulham’s goal-scoring with four strikes, but has not got on the scoresheet in their past four matches.

Andrew Johnson and Diomansy Kamara simply must put some goals together up front if Fulham are to have any chance of avoiding the drop zone.

On the injury front, Philippe Senderos joins Zamora and Dembele on the sidelines for Fulham, while James McFadden and Craig Gardner are unavailable for Birmingham.