In September I was witness to such a brutal and comprehensive Southampton victory over Birmingham that one could have been forgiven for predicting, as many did, that only one of these sides stood any chance of promotion from the Championship in May. The Saints were on a high, adding their opponents to the growing list of sides swept away in a post-promotion tidal wave of form with an impressive 4-1 win. Five months and twenty-two games later, however, Birmingham’s form has gone full circle – from stuttering to scintillating – while Southampton hope that their January spending is enough to arrest a run of poor form that threatens to derail their promotion push. Ahead of Saturday’s vital clash, the ‘favourites’ tag is quite firmly attached to Chris Hughton’s side.
Birmingham remain unbeaten at home, have won their last six in all competitions and are in their best goal-scoring form for years; King, Zigic, Burke and defender Curtis Davies all weighing in with important contributions at important times. Perhaps just as significant, though, is the club’s activity in the transfer window. While their opponents have added to their squad with the likes of Billy Sharp and Tadanari Lee, Birmingham’s main focus has been on protecting their prize assets in order to keep their promotion push up and running. Liam Ridgewell’s deadline day move to West Bromwich Albion may have left a bitter taste, but some of Birmingham’s top performers in recent weeks have been those of lower profile; Jordan Mutch, a product of the youth academy, is impressing in central midfield while Chris Burke continues to torment Championship left backs as he did for Cardiff City. Add to that the retention of the highly rated Nathan Redmond, and, for a team starting to feel the inevitable pinch following Premier League relegation, Birmingham City can look back happily on their January business.
When Chris Hughton’s was handed the reigns at what was St James’ Park following Newcastle’s relegation in 2009, he went about reinvigorating a club with a disillusioned fan-base and an underperforming team. They collected a record number of points that season and returned to the Premier League looking a far better proposition than the club Hughton took over the previous summer. Despite this drastic improvement under trying circumstances, the decision was taken to remove Hughton from his position with the side sitting comfortably in mid-table. Now he looks to have shaken another club out of its relegation stupor, and their relentless form shows no sign of stopping as the final stretch of the season approaches. Faced with a Southampton side with just four away league wins this campaign, Hughton will see a great opportunity to shorten the gap between them and their rivals to just two points.
Southampton’s season is at a crucial stage; the once unerring home form has faltered and the top spot, held for over four months, has been relinquished to West Ham. The buzzards are circling and words like ‘collapse’ and ‘bottle’ can be heard on phone-ins and read on online forums. But if Nigel Adkins is known for one thing it is his positivity, and he sees no reason why his side cannot be the first to topple Birmingham at St. Andrew’s this season. Whatever the statistics say, Southampton have a forward line that is the envy of any side outside the top flight; Lambert, Lallana, Guly and now Billy Sharp could all be on show in front of the Sky cameras and it might just be the toughest ask yet made of the Blues’ defence to keep them out. Add to that the return of Jose Fonte and Frazer Richardson from injury, and Southampton’s prospects on Saturday look healthier that their recent form belies. They, too, see an opportunity to inject fresh impetus into their season.
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