Premier League 
/ Jaymes Monte / 04 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Hodgson is beginning to implement his ideas at West Brom.
"For the most part WBA coped admirably with the physical threat at Stoke on Monday night and, after another five days on the training ground, they should be a few steps closer to Hodgson’s ideal."
Wembley hangover or riding the crest of a wave? Jaymes Monte previews a crucial relegation six-pointer.
Birmingham return to the harsh realities of a relegation dog fight just six days after the biggest day in the club's history. The question that bettors have to find an answer to is how Sunday's exploits will affect their performance this weekend.
One school of thought suggests that they will be high in confidence and relishing this weekend's game, the other says that anything following a Wembley triumph is likely to be a come down and they may find it difficult to raise their game again. More on that later.
The Blues have reported no fresh injury concerns meaning Roger Johnson should play despite visibly struggling with a calf injury at Wembley. West Brom have a clean bill of health and could name an unchanged starting XI.
Match Odds
Being at home is a major positive for Birmingham this weekend. Not only because the Blues have lost just three home games all season but also because it means that they can build on the momentum gained from their Carling Cup win.
The home crowd will be in celebratory mood and Alex McLeish can fire up his players to use that to their advantage. Had they been playing away from home then they would have been required to lift themselves.
Roy Hodgson has certainly added stability to the West Brom side since his arrival but they'll need to start turning the draws into wins if they are to claw their way out of trouble.
It's a big game for both sides but a raucous home crowd should be enough to see the Blues pick up three points and they can be backed to do so at odds of [2.4].
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
While Hodgson hasn't managed to completely halt the flow of goals being conceded he has certainly been successful in plugging some of the leaks. As a consequence they have also stopped scoring as many and haven't looked too threatening in each of Hodgson's two games in charge, prior to Carlos Vela being introduced.
Vela's style doesn't fit into Hodgson's master plan of pragmatism and rigidity, but his late goals from the substitutes bench may force the hand of the new head coach.
Add the Baggies' newfound solidity to the fact that no team has scored fewer Premier League goals on their home patch than Birmingham and we could be in for a tight, low scoring affair. Under 2.5 goals is a [1.75] shot with the reciprocal selection available to back at [2.3].
West Brom Clean Sheet
It's a staggering 26 Premier League games since West Brom kept a clean sheet. They have stopped the opposition from scoring just twice in all competitions this season and haven't had a defensive shutout since late August.
There's no doubting that Hodgson highlighted this problem as his first point of focus when he came in to the club. For the most part they coped admirably with the physical threat at Stoke on Monday night and, after another five days on the training ground, they should be a few steps closer to Hodgson's ideal.
It obviously contradicts my suggestion to back a Birmingham win, but backing a West Brom clean sheet at [4.0] is both a good value bet and a worthwhile safety net.
To Score
Two goals in two appearances from the bench from on-loan Vela have kept West Brom's head above the water. It would be foolish to ignore the little Mexican here at odds of [3.0], especially if he is picked in the starting XI.
Birmingham have a couple of in-form strikers of their own in Nikola Zigic, who has scored three goals in his last four starts, and Obafemi Martins who has two in two. The Serbian striker is [2.5] to add to his tally of eight for the season while Martins is a slightly shorter [2.4].
Best Bet:
Back Birmingham to win @ [2.4]
Recommended Bets:
Back Under 2.5 goals @ [1.75]
Back West Brom clean sheet @ [4.0]
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