Alan Hansen’s Premier League Pick: Birmingham v Bolton
Birmingham host Bolton this weekend in a match which on paper looks to have draw written all over it. Neither side has had a great start to the season but alternatively despite not picking up many wins; both teams have not been soundly beaten by any team they’ve faced.
There’s no doubt that Alex McLeish’s team have had the tougher fixtures this season since returning to the Premier League. They’ve already faced the likes of the champions Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa. The Blues may have lost all 3 of those games but the fact they were only beaten by a 1-goal margin suggests they will not be whipping boys this season.
Bolton too have not been beaten by more than a single goal but they’ve had a far easier start to the campaign. Apart from Liverpool, the Trotters have faced Portsmouth and Hull away plus Sunderland and Stoke at home which are all matches Gary Megson would expect points from. The fact they’ve picked up just four points suggests this could be a long hard season for the club with the fans already turning on their manager.
Bolton are now unbeaten in their last 3 games in all competitions which includes a win at Portsmouth and the midweek Carling Cup win over West Ham which should boost confidence. The win at Fratton Park ended a run of 12 games on the road without success but I don’t see them winning what should be a low-scoring match this weekend.
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If you want to see goals then Birmingham aren’t the best team to watch this season as their opening 6 games of the season have yielded just 7 goals. Despite losing three of their six league matches, Alex McLeish is likely to be pretty happy with their start. The matches they’ve lost were to be expected but they put up a fight in each. It’s the results against teams of a similar standing that Alex will be pleased with. A 0-0 draw with Stoke plus 1-0 wins over Portsmouth and Hull isn’t likely to have the Birmingham fans salivating but they are important results even at this stage of the season. Realistically survival is the Blues key objective and grabbing points off teams that are likely to be in a relegation dogfight is all important.
Defensively Birmingham are pretty sound, only Tottenham have managed to score more than a single goal against them and 3 clean-sheets in six games perfectly illustrate their strength. However, goal scoring will be a problem as will ball retention. To compete at this level, Birmingham will need to improve on their passing as their total of 636 misplaced passes is the worst record in the top flight.
This match is unlikely to be one for the purists but is sure to be full of honest endeavour. I’d expect few goals at St Andrews’ so I’m backing the draw on Premier 10.
Tags: Alan Hansen, Birmingham, Bolton, Premier 10, Premier League
