prem preview: chelsea-birmingham city
what: premier league
who: chelsea (2nd, epl, 2006-07) v birmingham city (2nd, the championship,2006-07)
when: sunday, 12 august, kick-off: 1330 local (bst)
where: stamford bridge, london

battle of the blues

chelsea will kick-start their title chase in the ‘new season’ on sunday when they play host to ‘new arrivals’ birmingham city at stamford bridge. both teams come into the campaign with high hopes but completely different aspirations. maintaining their top flight status will be the main motto for birmingham in the coming season whereas nothing less than a league triumph will satisfy chelsea’s owner roman abramovich. 

the chase begins

after having a mediocre last season which saw them surrender their premiership crown to rivals manchester united, chelsea will be looking forward to sunday hoping to make a bright start to their premier league campaign. the summer transfer market saw the arrival of some solid signings (malouda, sidwell, pizarro and tal ben haim) which has further strengthened the star studded london outfit. however, blues’ boss jose mourinho will be extremely concerned by his side’s long injury list. with a number of first team players, including their inspirational captain john terry, ruled out for the first few weeks the portuguese tactician will have to look for replacements all over the park. in spite of all this mourinho’s men will start the game against birmingham as strong favourites. chelsea are also extremely strong at home and have not lost a league game in their last 63 outings at the bridge.

hopes of survival

birmingham city make a return to top-flight action this season after a year-long absence. ‘survival’ will be the key word for city in the coming season as their main focus will be to maintain their premiership status for the next season. after facing the drop at the end of the 2006 campaign city managed to ensure a swift return to the premier league by securing a second-place finish behind sunderland in the championship last season. manager steve bruce has been very active in the transfer market and has managed to attract a number of players to st andrews. birmingham have the daunting task of facing chelsea at stamford bridge immediately, although bruce will be hoping that his players can take advantage of the opposition’s injury crisis and pull off what would arguably be the biggest surprise of the season.

if chelsea manage to avoid defeat at the bridge on sunday  for the 64th time in a row, they will beat liverpool’s top-flight record for the longest undefeated run on home soil. chelsea also have an excellent record when it comes to season openers. the london outfit have won seven of their last eight inaugural fixtures. birmingham’s record in season’s inaugural games on the other hand has been far from impressive. city’s only triumph on the opening day in the top flight came at the start of 2003/04 season against spurs. the previous meeting between the two teams took place in april 2006 when birmingham, playing at home, managed to secure a draw against the eventual champions of that year.

form guide

chelsea

06 may v arsenal (a) drew 1-1 (prem.)

09 may v man utd. (h) drew 0-0 (prem.)

13 may v everton (h) drew 1-1 (prem.)

19 may v man utd. won 1-0 (aet) (fa)

05 august v man utd. lost 1-1(aet 0-3 on pens) (community shield)

birmingham city

14 april v southampton (h) won 2-1 (champ.)

17 april v leicester city (a) won 1-2 (champ.)

22 april v wolves (a) won 2-3 (champ.)

28 april v sheffield united (h) won 2-0 (champ.)

06 may v preston (a) lost 1-0 (champ.)  

team news

chelsea

mourinho’s side are currently going through a major injury crisis. star striker didier drogba and captain john terry have been both ruled out due to knee injuries. last season’s big recruits michael ballack and andriy  shevchenko are also suffering from their respective injuries and are set to miss their side’s season opener. terry is likely to be replaced by tal ben haim in the centre of chelsea’s defence, whereas pizarro is expected to start in the absence of drogba and shevchenko. french winger malouda is also expected to make his premier league debut on sunday.

squad: to be announced...  

birmingham city

like their counterparts, birmingham will also be without the services of their captain damien johnson who is ruled out due to a hamstring injury. summer arrivals rafael schmitz and mat sadler are also out due to achilles problem. striker mikael forssell had a fine pre-season and is expected to lead the attack against his former club.

squad: doyle, maik taylor, kelly, parnaby, martin taylor, ridgewell, jaidi, queudrue, larsson, muamba, nafti, mcsheffrey, de ridder, oconnor, forssell, jerome, danns, vine, kapo, tebily.

players to watch

chelsea-joe cole

joe cole missed most of the action last season due to recurring injuries. the english international though looked sharp and fit in the preseason and he will be hoping to make amends for lost time. the absence of drogba up-front means that there’ll be extra responsibility on cole’s shoulders as he will start as the most experienced campaigner in english conditions of the three-pronged attack along with malouda and pizzaro. chelsea’s fans will be expecting a menacing display from their beloved winger on sunday.

birmingham city-gary mcsheffrey

mcsheffrey with 17 goals was birmingham’s top scorer last season. if birmingham are to survive they’ll need to score some crucial goals and he is the most likely source. if he takes the field against chelsea on sunday as a starter, the former coventry city striker will be making his full debut in the top flight of english football. the 25-year-old is said to have a lot of potential and he will be looking forward to make the most of this opportunity.

prediction

in spite of all their injury woes chelsea will start the game on sunday as huge favorites. chelsea have a lot of depth in their squad and mourinho made it a point in the summer transfer window to ensure that unlike last year chelsea have cover for each and every position on the park. the midlanders’ last triumph at the bridge came way back in 1979-80 season and it seems highly unlikely to me that they can repeat that feat on sunday.

chelsea 3-1 birmingham city

saket yadav