Birmingham v Portsmouth Preview

Posted on | February 6, 2012 | No Comments

It was only a few years ago that both of these teams were plying their trade in the Premiership. Judging by current form, it shouldn’t be too long before Birmingham are back there, but the same cannot be said of Portsmouth who are in all sorts of problems on and off the pitch.

Birmingham’s campaign has been one big rollercoaster although at the moment, the Blues are in full flow. Following a tricky start to the season, Chris Hughton’s men approach this game in some excellent form and currently sit in 5th position. Having accumulated forty seven points, this means that the St Andrews outfit are just five behind the automatic positions. Furthermore, there is every chance that they will narrow this margin in the next few weeks, with Birmingham on a run that has seen them fail to lose in their last eleven games. To make their supporters even more optimistic ahead of this game, the Blues are the only team in the Championship who have an unbeaten home record.

While Birmingham appear to be constantly improving, the same certainly cannot be said about Portsmouth. Pompey are in severe financial difficulties and having been hit by a winding up petition a couple of weeks ago, there is even the possibility that the Fratton Park outfit could go out of business. Their supporters will also be very concerned about the possibility of entering administration, which would be disastrous considering the ten point penalty that accompanies such a situation. With Pompey currently sat on thirty four points, administration would send them into the relegation zone and make their situation even less appealing for a prospective buyer. In terms of recent form, Steve Cotterill’s men have put together some inconsistent results in recent weeks having won two and lost two of their last four. Their supporters may carry at least some confidence into this game though, after the club managed to score an unexpected 3-0 away win over Peterborough last week.

In comparison with other games in the division, this is a fixture that has occurred rarely over the last few years. Overall, Birmingham hold the better head-to-head statistics, with the Blues winning 37 to Portsmouth’s 24. In terms of recent games, the last match between these two was in the Premiership back in 2010. Birmingham ended up grabbing a 2-1 away victory there, while they also won the reverse fixture 1-0.

It is clear to see that Portsmouth are really scrapping for anything they can get their hands on at the moment and that was obvious in their last game against Peterborough. However, Birmingham have a fantastic record at St Andrews and because of that and their superb recent form, our tip will be a 2-0 win for Chris Hughton’s men.

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