Birmingham City looking to extend unbeaten run
- By Drew Swainston on December 11, 2010 14:20 GMTBirmingham City boss Alex McLeish can heap more misery on Mick McCarthy if they beat Wolves in the Midlands derby on Sunday.
The hosts go into this game sitting second bottom of the Premier League having lost six of their last eight matches.
Birmingham fans could take some confidence from the fact Wolves have lost two of their last three games at Molineux and the Blues are unbeaten against Sunday's opposition in nine league games going back to December 2001. The visitors are seen by the bookies at 9/4 to win and extend their good record against Wolves.
Birmingham boast a much-improved recent run of form, they only won two of their last 14 but are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games – a record that includes a draw at Manchester City and a win over Chelsea at St Andrews.
McLeish has the benefit of no new injury concerns and could name the same starting XI from the 1-1 draw with Tottenham last time out. On-loan Barcelona midfielder remains not fully fit as he recovers from a hamstring problem so is unlikely to feature in the West Midlands derby.
The Scottish manager could possibly consider give a recall to Serbian striker Nikola Zigic, who missed the last game and is 15/2 to be first goalscorer, and switch to a 4-5-1 formation as they look for goals against a Wolves defence that is the leakiest in the Premier League, with 30 conceded.
Wolves boss McCarthy has to contend with a growing injury list, with winger Matt Jarvis out with a knee injury and joining the likes of Dave Jones, Michael Mancienne and Steven Fletcher.on the sidelines. With their poor recent record they are 7/5 to win on Sunday, with the draw priced at 23/10.
Birmingham know a win could see them move up the table as they hover above the relegation zone despite their recent upturn in fortunes. For Wolves their ambition has to be points as they already sit three points behind Wigan ahead of them and know the wrong result could leave them rock bottom of the Premier League come the end of the weekend.
