Birmingham City are preparing to welcome second placed Middlesbrough to St.Andrews on Friday evening with the Sky Sports cameras once again in attendance.
The away side, who can move back to the top of the table with a draw or a win, have sold out their allocation of 4,900 tickets and with home ticket sales going in the right direction then the Blues squad and management can expect to receive a fantastic ovation in their lap of honour after the game.
In what has been a fantastic season for Gary Rowett and his squad, the game on Friday night could mean that Blues have one final say in who goes up to the Premier League and who makes the play-offs.
Previously this months, Blues have had to deal with visits from Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion who are also in the hunt for the Sky Bet Championship title, but they have lost both games 2-1.
However, Blues could throw a massive spanner in the works if they manage to pull off a result against Aitor Karanka’s side in front of the Sky cameras in two days time and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a shock on the cards.
The visitors have a fantastic squad and choosing who I was going to put in this weeks five-a-side team was very difficult indeed. But, after much consideration, I believe I have come up with the strongest five-a-side team of the season…
GK: Dimi Konstantopoulos.
The Greek goalkeeper has a fantastic clean sheet record once again this season, with 22 under his belt with two games left to play. That record means he keeps a clean sheet once every two games, although there was a time in the season where he kept nine clean sheets in a row.
Should he keep Blues out, that will be the second time he has done so this season with the reverse fixture ending in a 0-0 draw, but throughout the second half, had Blues been more ruthless, they could have walked away with more than a point.
The last time Dimi played at St.Andrews he saw red for his challenge on Clayton Donaldson. Blues will be hoping for a similar outcome on Friday night but if another clean sheet is kept he will beat last seasons total, which is one he has already matched this season.
DF: Paul Caddis.
Caddis has been fantastic in recent weeks in both the attacking part of the pitch and the defensive stages and I have been really impressed with his performances of late.
However, it could be a tough game for Caddis this week with Middlesbrough having some fantastic wide players but that has never stopped him before so who knows!
The last time the Scotsman played against Boro at St.Andrews he scored the penalty which saw Konstantopoulos get sent off so if we were to predict a goal scorer once again, we wouldn’t shy away from Caddis scoring in the final home game of the season.
MF: Albert Adomah and David Cotterill.
I have chosen a very attacking midfield pairing for this weeks five-a-side team but that is because both of the players can have a real influence on how the games pans out on Friday.
Middlesbrough’s Adomah is the joint second top goal scorer in their squad with eight goals to his name and he has been one of the Championships most consistent performers throughout the season.
Blues will really struggle if the former Barnet man gets the ball at his feet and he has the space to run into, especially if he has his shooting boots on and because of his threat going forward, I thought it was only right that he got a spot in this weeks team.
Next to Adomah, I have opted for Cotterill from the Blues squad because I think he has really upped his game in the last five outings and he finally found the back of the net last time out against Huddersfield Town.
Despite only finding the back of the net three times all season, Cotterill’s dead ball quality is something that I think is hard to find at any other Championship side and that quality is the reason why he is in this weeks five-a-side team.
ST: Clayton Donaldson.
The Jamaican international has hit a bit of form recently and out of the two clubs’ strikers, Donaldson is the top goal scorer and that is why he has earned himself a place in the team this week.
Donaldson has 11 goals in the league this season and he has four in his last five games and if Blues can continue to get him into the positions that they have been getting him into then I am sure that he will find the back of the net at least once before the end of the season, hopefully in the game against Middlesbrough.
Blues and Boro fans, do you agree that this could be the strongest five-a-side team that we have seen all season? Let us know in the comment section down below!
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