Alex McLeish expects to see his side continue with good performances after they beat the city rival Aston Villa by 2:1 in the Carling cup ¼ finals. Although they’re 14th in the tables of EPL, the Blues have got only 3 points more than the sides inside the relegation zone. Birmingham’s fans are probably not looking too forward to hosting Tottenham, who is in excellent form and usually records good results against Birmingham on the road. In their 12 matches in EPL, B’ham recorded only 3 wins against the North-London sides. The draws are common for them this season, as they’ve drawn as many as 8 times in the first 15 matches, but they did manage to upset Chelsea in their last EPL match at the St.Andrews stadium.
Have to play tougher in defense
No matter the great form this season, Harry Redknapp expects his side not to concede today, which is something they managed to achieve in EPL the last time in the first round of the season against Manchester City. Tottenham is recording impressive results at the White Hart Lane, but in their 7 away games they recorded 3 wins, meaning the away form needs to be improved in order to become serious candidates for the top spots. This season, the Spurs proved they are not giving up when they’re down, and the last weekend they managed to beat Liverpool after being 1:0 down. That was the 5th time they managed to record a win after they conceded the first goal in the game. Redknapp surely hopes his side will play a bit less stressful match at the St.Andrews.
A great battle is expected
Birmingham rarely loses at their St.Andrews stadium and the fans surely expect a lot after they managed to beat Aston Villa and Birmingham in the last 2 matches. Tottenham has got some injury worries and Kaboul and van der Vaart didn’t travel with the team, but definitely have the more talented side than the hosts and that’s why they’re favorites at this match. Still, I expect one tough match as the home defense is one of the better ones in the league, so I’d suggest you to try with an under.
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Prediction:
Tip: Under 2.5
Odd: 1.88
Bookie: Bet365
Stake: 7 /10
Tipster: Kather
