Birmingham v Charlton Preview

Posted on | November 14, 2008 | No Comments

Many pundits would have suggested at the start of the season that this would be a game involving two promotion challengers. Unfortunately for Chartlon, it only looks as though half of that statement is correct. As expected, Birmingham are sat in the automatic places, although immense pressure is on Alan Pardew at the moment and a defeat here could spell the end of his Addicks tenure.

Birmingham may be sat in the automatic positions yet it would be more than fair to say their recent form has been horrific. At one time, the Blues were well clear of 3rd place Reading a few weeks ago yet now just one point separates the two teams. Alex McLeish’s men have gained just one point from their last three games after defeats to QPR and Coventry were followed by a disappointing draw with Nottingham Forest. Some people have suggested that McLeish has at his disposal the best squad to ever play at this level yet he knows that there needs to be some serious improvements if they are to bounce straight back to the top flight as expected. However, bearing in mind their quality on paper, you can’t imagine this slump going on for much longer.

As for Charlton, things aren’t going too well for them either. The Addicks are sat in 20th position and you could say that a last minute penalty from Andy Gray was the goal that saved Alan Pardew’s job. The Valley side simply haven’t been good enough this term and having failed to record a win in their last six games, this weekend really could be do or die for Pardew. On the positive side, that penalty from Gray broke his scoring duck and Charlton need the likes of him to be firing on all cylinders to lift them out of this mess.

Part of the reason for Birmingham’s struggles so far could be due to a bit of an injury crisis. Alex McLeish will be without Garry O’Connor, Stuart Parnaby, Stephen Kelly, David Murphy and Gary McSheffrey who are all out injured. There is some rest bite for the Blues boss though, with Franck Quedrue likely to return from illness and Liam Ridgewell hopeful of recovering from a virus. Visitors Charlton have a couple of concerns with Luke Varney and Chris Dickson both doubtful. Other than that, Alan Pardew has no new problems though.

As for a prediction, we have to go for the Birmingham win. They may not be hitting the best of form at the moment but on paper they are far superior to Charlton and as we’ve already discussed, the Addicks have big problems of their own. We’ll predict a 2-0 win, which could unfortunately send Alan Pardew packing.

Related posts:

1. Charlton v Sheffield United Preview
2. Premiership Charlton v Tottenham
3. Nottingham Forest v Charlton Preview
4. QPR v Charlton Preview
5. Charlton v Burnley Preview

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