Often Partisan

Can Blues Stop the Seagulls to Make it Seven? Brighton Preview

It’s been some time since we last played Brighton and Hove Albion – sixteen years in fact since the last league meeting – and both sides have gone through some changes in that time. The Seagulls come to Blues having made a decent start to the season under Gus Poyet, and with Blues on fire formwise recently it promises to be a good fixture.

Brighton and Hove Albion

Brighton are actually in a bit of a slump having made a very successful start to the season, without a win in seven games and having taken only 3 points in that time. They’ve only kept one clean sheet (an away draw at Hull City) and have conceded eleven goals in their last six games; scoring just six. Having started the season so well and at one point topping the table they now find themselves five places and one point behind Blues, having played two games more.

Brighton have two ex-Blues within their ranks; many will remember full back Marcos “Concrete Legs” Painter, who was a trainee at St Andrews but not so many will remember former loanee Gary Dicker, who played in the reserves at Blues for six months in the latter half of the 06-07 season on loan from UCD, along side compatriot Pat Kavanagh. However, Dicker won’t be making his St Andrews bow tomorrow either having fractured his fibula against West Ham last weekend. One player who may well play is Spanish winger Vicente, who has recovered from a thigh injury

Birmingham City

Blues go into this game on the back of six consecutive wins and will be bidding to win for a seventh game in a row for the first time since 1994. The winning streak has seen Blues shoot up the table, and I think it’s massively down to the fact that Blues have scored in every league game this season (and fifteen out of seventeen over all). Only Elisson and Costel Pantillimon have been able to keep Blues from scoring – both of them away from home – and Elisson was beaten three times when CD Nacional came to Birmingham.

Injury-wise, Wade Elliott (calf) and Morgaro Gomis (groin) both miss out; however Steven Caldwell is fit to play despite breaking his nose for the second time this season against Leeds United and Pablo will have a fitness test to see if he’s recovered enough from the concussion sustained against Club Brugge. We have one former Brighton player in our ranks, with Chris Wood having scored ten goals in his stint there on loan last season, and the Kiwi striker is no doubt raring to play again to show them how much he’s progressed.

I will confess I don’t want to predict a score for this game. I’m superstitious, and I don’t think I’ve predicted a win in this run and thus if I predict one now, I’m sure Blues will lose. Furthermore, knowing how Chris Hughton likes to rotate the squad I’m not even sure who will line up, although I have a feeling that Chris Wood may start up front and that maybe Guirane N’Daw will make his league bow in the centre of midfield. I’m also interested to see if Chris Burke will play; he’s featured in all bar one of Blues games this season (Nacional at home) and he’s playing brilliantly; how much longer will he be able to carry on?

 

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One Response to “Can Blues Stop the Seagulls to Make it Seven? Brighton Preview”

  • bluenoseneil says:

    Let’s hope the squad’s rotated again to ensure everyone has a rest, as I would like to see Murphy, N’Daw and Redmond all get decent run-outs.
    As for score prediction don’t worry Almajir….remember whatever u think it won’t have an effect in actual reality!! But I will say we should all be confident of our boys right now.
    KRO

    P.S. Notice that I didn’t score predict either ;0)


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