One To Watch: Christophe Berra

Mid-week fixtures are often tricky for Birmingham City; squad rotation is crucial having played on the Sunday and so it’s all about man management in order to get the best out of the players. Tonight St Andrews play host to Ipswich Town. The tractor boys are 17th in the league but this is mainly due to inconsistency so we can’t be complacent going into the game.

Having beaten QPR 3-0 at the end of November, they then went on to lose 2-0 in the next game at Bristol City before drawing against Cardiff in their last fixture. The lack of consistency is what Ipswich are struggling with and so they could come firing on all cylinders or roll over; this league is that unpredictable that it is hard to say which one.

In terms of who their player to watch is, it has been a tricky decision. Ipswich are one of those teams that work hard off the ball and all of the players know their game plan and their role. Therefore for one particular player to really stand out as a leader is fairly unlikely. Now, they have good strike force, I am not doubting that. They have a lot of experience. But I personally think that it is their defence that will be tricky to overcome. They all work well together as a unit. So my one to watch this week, is Christophe Berra.

For me, he is a true defender. He is one of those players that will just fling himself at any cross or shot in order to get the ball away. He puts his neck on the line for the team and therefore I think that he has been a fan favourite no matter where he has been. Fans love to see passion on the field and he certainly gives that. As a defender, he does dive in a bit too much and so there is a possibility that he will give free kicks away or even penalties. Now, I would play Che due to this. He will be faster than Berra and therefore will have the ability to get past him. Donaldson will match Berra for strength but it will just turn into a tussle.

Berra also contributes at the other end. More so in the past, but he is always a threat from a corner. It’s the fact that he is not scared of anything so will always put his head towards the ball. A lot of movement will really throw this Ipswich defence and therefore we need to be more fluid in attack. All in all, I think it will be a good game. We should get the points but anything can happen and confidence isn’t exactly high.