Coca Cola Matchday Seventeen: Birmingham City v Barnsley

Birmingham City: Bennett, Grainger, Purse, John, Horsfield, Hughes, Mooney (Lazaridis 71), Carter, Vickers, Kenna, Devlin.
Subs: Vaesen, Eaden, M. Johnson, A. Johnson.

Barnsley: Miller, Mulligan (O'Callaghan 78), Morgan, Crooks, Barker, Donovan (Neil 67), Jones, Lumsdon, Ward, Sheron, Dyer (Bedeau 67).
Subs: Marriott, L. Jones.

Nobody from either side still remain at the respective club.

Barnsley were 19^th in Division One after this game with Birmingham 9^th.

Earlier on in the season (13^th October 2001) Barnsley were defeated 3-1 at Oakwell by the Brum.

Marcelo put Brum in front after 34 minutes before new Reds recruit Peter Sand headed in an equaliser on 54 minutes. Birmingham though took control and Barnsley-born Geoff Horsfield put The Blues back in front within a minute before Paul Furlong wrapped up the points after 83 minutes.

Sides:

Barnsley: Marriott, Parkin, Barker, Morgan, Crooks, Donovan, Sand, Lumsdon, Jones, Dyer, Sheron. Subs: Ghent, Regan, Gorre, Rankin, Ward.

Birmingham: Vaesen, Gill, Purse, Michael Johnson, Grainger, Eaden, O'Connor, Hughes, Lazaridis, Horsfield, Marcelo. Subs: Bennett, Holdsworth, Furlong, Woodhouse, Luntala.

Birmingham finished the season in 5^th place earning them a shot at the Play-Offs.

They defeated Millwall 2-1 on aggregate before winning the final against Norwich City 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw and they joined Manchester City and West Brom in the Premiership where they remained until last season's relegation.

Barnsley of course had no such luck and were relegated to Division Two where they also remained until last season's promotion.

Onto 2006-2007 then:

Birmingham endured a torrid time last season and were relegated from the Premiership finishing 4 points off safety.

They spent big in the summer however splashing millions on the likes of Cameron Jerome from Cardiff and Gary McSheffrey from Coventry and have made a good start to life back in the Championship, sitting 4^th with 30 points and they could go second with victory today.

Barnsley have a big task on their hands to overturn The Blues, as Birmingham go into this game on the back of four successive league victories without conceding a SINGLE goal. They have also won 5 of their last 6 in all competitions, a 1-0 defeat against “minnows” Liverpool in the Carling Cup the only glitch….

Last time out in the league Birmingham defeated Plymouth 1-0 away and their last home defeat was a 1-0 reverse to Norwich on the 17^th October. They won their last home match 2-0 against fellow promotion contenders West Brom.

A win for Birmingham today could see them move as high as 2^nd a win for The Reds would see them stay 21^st unless it was by a big margin!

Last 6 Birmingham v Barnsley Results:

2001/2002:

Sat 16 Feb Birmingham C. 1 - 0 Barnsley (Division One)

Sat 13 Oct Barnsley 1 - 3 Birmingham C. (Division One)

2000/2001:

Sat 13 Jan Barnsley 2 - 3 Birmingham C. (Division One)

Mon 28 Aug Birmingham C. 4 - 1 Barnsley (Division One)

1999/2000:

Thu 18 May Barnsley 1 - 2 Birmingham C. (Division One Play-Off Semi Final Second Leg)

Barnsley won 5-2 on aggregate

Sat 13 May Birmingham C. 0 - 4 Barnsley (Division One Play-Off Semi Final First Leg)

Highest Aggregate 9 Barnsley 7 - 2 Small Heath* 1898/1899

Highest Birmingham C. score: 5 Barnsley 0 - 5 Birmingham C. 1995/1996

Highest Barnsley score: 7 Barnsley 7 - 2 Small Heath* 1898/1899

* Small Heath was Birmingham City's original name. They changed to Birmingham FC in 1905 and Birmingham City FC in 1945.

Last 6 2006-2007 results:

Birmingham:

8/11/06 Birmingham 0-1 Liverpool (Carling Cup)

4/11/06 Plymouth 0-1 Birmingham (Championship)

31/10/06 Coventry 0-1 Birmingham

28/10/06 Birmingham 2-0 West Brom

24/10/06 Sheffield United 2-4 Birmingham (Carling Cup)

21/10/06 Derby 0-1 Birmingham (Championship)

W:5 D:0 L:1 F:9 A:3 GD:+6 Points:12

Barnsley:

4/11/06 Barnsley 3-2 Leeds (Championship)

1/11/06 Derby 2-1 Barnsley (Championship)

28/10/06 Barnsley 0-1 Coventry (Championship)

21/10/06 Sunderland 2-0 Barnsley (Championship)

17/10/06 Barnsley 2-2 Plymouth Argyle (Championship)

14/10/06 Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Barnsley (Championship)

W:1 D:1 L:4 F:7 A:11 GD:-4 Points: 4

Birmingham currently lie 4th in the Coca-Cola Championship with 30 points from 16 games, 15 points above Barnsley who lie 21^st with 15 points from 16 games.

WHO ARE YA!

Full name: Birmingham City Football Club

Nickname(s): The Blues

Founded: 1875

Ground: St Andrews Stadium
Bordesley Green
Birmingham

Capacity: 30,016

Chairman: David Gold and David Sullivan

Manager: Steve Bruce

League: The Championship

2005-06: Premier League, 18th

League

Cup Competitions