Arsenal VS Birmingham City 17/10/2009, 22:00
Occasionally brilliant, occasionally blundering, Arsenal welcome the visit of Birmingham City to the Emirates Stadium on the back of a thumping 6-2 win over Blackburn. That was achieved, however, after conceding two sucker-punches. Thomas Vermaelen showed again why he has been dubbed the best buy in the Premiership this season, and Francesc Fabregas had a blinder of a game once more, setting up 4 goals and scoring 1 himself. The Gunners have now won their last 6 games in all competitions, and on home turf they have won all their games this season, all by 2 goals or more. Their opponents Birmingham did admirably on opening day against Manchester United at Old Trafford, but of late they have been struggling a bit. Birmingham have lost their last 3 games in a row in all competitions, including 2 in the Premiership. They had no answers to a physical Bolton side, going down 1-2 at home, and they were edged 1-2 by fellow promoted side Burnley. They are in for a long, long afternoon against an Arsenal side that will pass the ball around all day.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is without some key players here. Croatian striker Eduardo is out with a thigh injury, and he is joined by Nicklas Bendtner, Gael Clichy, Denilson and Johan Djorou. Manuel Almunia could be included following quite a long spell on the sidelines with a chest infection, but Samir Nasri is still lacking match fitness. Andrey Arshavin and Robin Van Persie should be leading the line for the Gunners once more, with Tomas Rosicky and Francesc Fabregas the creative force in midfield. Theo Walcott made a goalscoring return in the Premier League but Wenger could leave him on the bench after he played in England's Under-21 game. For Birmingham boss Alex McLeish, striker Cameron Jerome is back and he is a big boost. Christian Benitez missed his flight from South America though so he is missing. Marcus Bent, Franck Quedrue, Gregory Vignal, Stuart Parnaby and Martin Taylor are the othern notable absentees. Birmingham do not have a bad team, with James McFadden upfront and Lee Carsley, Lee Bowyer, Barry Ferguson and Teemu Tainio in midfield. Question is, can they match Arsenal's fluency in passing and pace down the flanks? I think not.
I am backing Arsenal here. Yes, Arsenal have not beaten Birmingham in the last 2 encounters, but Arsenal are way more of an attacking threat as compared their opponents today. The last match between these sides saw Birmingham's Martin Taylor breaking Arsenal's Eduardo's leg, and in that game, Birmingham scored a 94th-minute penalty to tie the game at 2-2. Surely the Arsenal players will be keen to banish the memories of that nightmare game and register a big win here. If their massive win over Blackburn is not an indication of what is to come for Birmingham then I do not know what is. Francesc Fabregas has been in top form, and with him sniffing around behind Robin Van Persie and afforded support by Tomas Rosicky and Andrey Arshavin, the Spanish international is set for another spectacular performance. I expect the Gunners to keep a cleansheet in this one, so that should give the Correct Score punters out there something to work with seeing as I am also backing them on the handicap.
Fate85 Recommends:
Arsenal @ -2 Handicap
Total Goals: Over
Arsenal @ -2 Handicap
Total Goals: Over
