Birmingham v Burnley

On 22 December Birmingham City plays Burnley at St Andrews Stadium, and the home side seem to be on fire at the moment. Their recent draw with Crystal palace, from a two goal deficit, suggests that some of the struggles the club had coped with this season might be easing; there really might be light at the end of the tunnel.

A win against Burnley would help Birmingham to put a gap between itself and the teams facing possible relegation at the bottom of the championship table. Currently a Birmingham victory is priced at around 5/4 with Burnley priced at 9/4 and a draw at 12/5.
Currently Birmingham with 25 points is sixth from the bottom of the table, two points ahead of Ipswich and 7 above Bristol City, Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough. In terms of possible relegation, while some bookmakers are offering 8/1 on Birmingham City being demoted, others are pricing it at around 14/1.

Fans are eagerly awaiting a return to fitness of the midfielder Darren Ambrose who has been plagued with injuries and illness ever since he was recruited from Crystal Palace last summer. He has only played five games, but in one he scored and in three others he was involved goals. Lee Clark, the Birmingham manager, said that he is still betting on Ambrose’s return to form in the near future.

Once the planned City of Birmingham Stadium is opened, Birmingham City will have the fourth largest stadium in the UK. With a seating capacity of around 55,000 only Wembley, Old Trafford and Emirates stadia are larger. It had been planned to build a upper casino within the stadium, but those plans are currently on hold while alternative locations are considered.

If is it built elsewhere, then Birmingham fans will have to content themselves with playing online on Lucky Nugget as they wind their way home from matches – this is probably already a favoured past-time of many fans considering the range of games available including football-themed slots games.