Chelsea face a tough test today when they travel to Birmingham City in search of a three point haul in the Premier League. Following their heavy loss to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge last week, this won’t be the most confident Chelsea side, and the club are under real pressure for the first time this season as the face losing the Premiership lead the have held since August.
Head-to-head stats suggest that Chelsea have little to fear from Birmingham. Chelsea have not lost one of the last ten meetings between the clubs, taking six wins while four matches ended in draws. Chelsea have beaten Birmingham at St. Andrews Stadium twice during this period.
The last meeting between these clubs in Birmingham produced a dour 0-0 draw. Birmingham’s form ahead of this fixture won‘t have Chelsea quaking in its boots. City have failed to win one of its last four matches, and their last win came against Brentford in the Carling Cup–a match it only won on penalties.
Birmingham’s have not been dreadful in any department, but also haven’t done enough to generate any real momentum, with its strikers scoring a goal a game over the last five fixtures and six goals conceded by the defence in the same time period.
Chelsea are also not looking the best they have been this season, having lost two of their last five matches while taking three wins. The 3-0 loss to Sunderland on Sunday may work out to be one of the turning points of the season.
Chelsea have scored 7 goals in the last five matches, with the strikers beginning to lose momentum as pressure mounts on the club. Defence has also begun to show signs of weakness, with 7 goals conceded during the same run of fixtures.
Manchester City have not scored in their last two games and manager Roberto Mancini will start to really feel the heat under his blue-and-white striped scarf if that does not change soon.
He gets the opportunity to ask his predecessor Mark Hughes for advice on life at the world’s richest club as the pair come face to face when fourt–placed City travel to Hughes’ new club Fulham tomorrow.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011201353595
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