BIRMGHAM CITY V EVERTON PREVIEW
By The Nark End
March 12 2010
A PREVIEW OF TOMORROWS GAME AT ST.ANDREW'S.....
March 12 2010
A PREVIEW OF TOMORROWS GAME AT ST.ANDREW'S.....
Tomorrows game has to be a must win game for Everton,just like every game between now and the end of the season.
Birmingham city though are having a great season and it will not be easy by any means,Alex Mcliesh is building a team similar to Everton,plenty of team spirit and a little of bit of pace up front,they also have 2 arl arses in midfield in the shape of Barry Ferguson and Lee Bowyer and they have a strong defence that does'nt concede goals very often.
Im predicting a close game and us to nick it by the odd goal.
Louis Saha and Tim Cahill could return to action against Birmingham on Saturday.
The French striker has missed the last two games against Tottenham and Hull City with a hamstring problem while the Australian hasn't featured since limping off against Sporting Lisbon at Goodison last month.
"Louis Saha is back training as is Tim Cahill," said David Moyes in his pre-match press briefing. "Overall we are pretty healthy and we hopefully go into the game with most people available."
Long term injury victim Marouane Fellaini remains sidelined for the rest of the season following ankle surgery while Leon Osman has suffered a slight injury which will stop him travelling to the Midlands.
"Ossie is the one who isn't available though as he has got an injury," revealed the Everton manager. "We think he will be out for a couple of weeks as he has a bit of a groin strain."
The game at Birmingham will also be the final appearance for Landon Donovan following his ten week loan spell.
The American is due to return to LA Galaxy for the start of the MLS season after the Premier League match.
Everton (from): Howard, Nash, Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Yobo, Senderos, Hibbert, Neville, Coleman, Gosling, Rodwell, Heitinga, Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Donovan, Bilyaletdinov, Anichebe, Saha, Yakubu.
HEAD TO HEAD:
This is the 58th visit to Birmingham in the league and our 116th league meeting in total.
Everton’s full league record is:
| P | W | D | L | |
| Home | 58 | 36 | 16 | 6 |
| Away | 57 | 22 | 17 | 18 |
| Total | 115 | 58 | 33 | 24 |
The last meeting at St Andrews was a 1-1 draw in April 2008, with Joleon Lescott netting for the Toffees. The teams have met twice at Goodison this season – in the league we drew 1-1 in December (Diniyar Bilyaletdinov for the Toffees) and lost 2-1 in the FA Cup in January (Leon Osman netting).
The Toffees have lost just three of the last 47 league matches between the teams – all away from home, in September 1972 (1-2), April 1983 (0-1) and February 2004 (0-3).
In the Premier League Everton’s record against Birmingham is:
| P | W | D | L | |
| Home | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Away | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
The managers
The Blues’ boss has faced Birmingham on 18 occasions in his managerial career – and at Preston defeated Birmingham in the semi-finals of the Championship play-offs in 2001 on penalties. His full record is:
| P | W | D | L | |
| Preston | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Everton | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Total | 18 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
The only previous meetings between the managers are the 1-1 draw in April 2008 and the two this season.
The goals
There have been seven hat-tricks by Everton players in the fixture with the most recent the treble netted by Gary Lineker in August 1985 at Goodison.
The last Birmingham player to net a hat-trick was Noel Kinsey at St Andrews on Christmas Day 1955.
Louis Saha has six career goals against the Midlands’ team, with Yakubu netting two and Leon Osman one.
The players
There have been seven players sent-off in matches between the teams – the most recent for Everton being Wayne Rooney at St Andrews on Boxing Day 2002 with Muzzy Izzet red-carded at St Andrews in November 2004.
Steven Pienaar requires one more appearance for 100 for the Toffees in all competitions.
Sylvain Distin requires one more appearance for 300 in English football.
Any other Business
Everton have lost just two out of the last 14 matches, accumulating 26 points – against 15 picked up in the first 14 matches of the campaign.
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BIRMGHAM CITY V EVERTON PREVIEW
Posted by: The Nark End (IP Logged)
Date: 12/03/2010 20:38
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