Match Preview: Birmingham City

SATURDAY 9TH NOVEMBER | 3PM | ST ANDREWS

Next up for the Whites is a trip to the midlands to take on Pep Clotet’s Birmingham side. The Spaniard has been their caretaker boss since June overseeing an indifferent season so far for the Blues who sit mid-table with two wins and two defeats since the last international break. Meanwhile, Fulham could only imagine what two wins look like following the worst performance of the season against Hull City last time out. A must-win for Parker?

Head to Head

  • Fulham Wins 28 | Draws 28 | Birmingham Wins 34
  • In our last 12 visits to St Andrew’s, we have won 4, drawn 4 and lost 4.
  • Our last meeting with Birmingham ended our 23-game unbeaten run in 2018.
  • Birmingham were the only side in the division that weren’t part of that unbeaten run.
  • Our last victory at St Andrew’s came in 2014. Tim Hoogland and Hugo Rodallega giving Kit Symons his first win as manager.
  • Both clubs have scored in 11 of the last 14 meetings. Birmingham scoring 17 and Fulham 16.

Birmingham in 2019/20

  • Position: 12th
  • League Form: LWWLW
  • Average Possession: 46%
  • Top Scorers: Lukas Jutkiewicz (4), Kristian Pedersen (3).
  • Current Position in Form Table:
  • Clean sheets: 4
  • Discipline: 30 Yellows | 1 Red
  • Won 5 out of 7 home games so far including the last 3 on the bounce.
  • They’ve only gone in losing at half time at home once so far this season.
  • 70% of their goals have come after the 60th minute.

Players in Common

Maik Taylor

Fulham: 235 appearances (1997-2004)

Birmingham: 242 appearances (2003-2011)

Jimmy Allen, Sone Aluko, Hameur Bouazza, Bobby Brennan, Dan Burn, Andy Cole, Mark Cooper, Papa Bouba Diop, Steve Finnan, Kerim Frei, Julian Gray, Geoff Horsfield, Andy Johnson, Stephen Kelly, Graham Leggat, Paul Peschisolido, Frank Queudrue, David Stockdale and Maik Taylor.

Score Prediction Panel

Jim Stannard (1980-1985 & 1987-1995)

Birmingham City 1-2 Fulham

Whitenoise (Twitter)

Birmingham City 2-4 Fulham

Martin Djetou (2002-2004)

Birmingham City 1-2 Fulham

Andrejs Stolcers (2000-2004)

Birmingham City 1-2 Fulham

Matts’s View (‪@Matt10L)

It’s been a difficult season for Fulham, and one would have thought we’d be occupying the Top 6 or even Top 2 by now. The reality is, we have been exposed not only defensively, but in the attack as well. Hull figured our gameplan out, but it did not necessarily mean they could prevent us from getting into their defensive third on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, we lacked the final ball, and when we did not take advantage of that momentum – it swung the other way, three times right into the back of of our net. Scott Parker believes that comments of “useless possession” are unwarranted considering we have the highest amount of shots on target in the league and of course dominate in possession. This may be true even for the upcoming match against Birmingham, but if we continue without scoring on these high bouts of possession, it will be all for nothing – especially when we concede goals from minimal total shots. Despite the Hull City defeat at the Cottage, it should be a wake-up call to get back on track. Even though I’d love to say we will get the victory, travelling to St. Andrews is no easy task. 2-2 Draw, a point for each before the International Break.