Luke Turner analyses the importance of the game against Ipswich on the weekend…
Birmingham City had a very successful week of away performances in the East Midlands, with a draw at Nottingham Forest followed by a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Derby.
Now, it is time for Gary Rowett`s side to replicate those two performances and take it into Saturday’s game back at St Andrews where a huge game against Ipswich awaits.
Mick McCarthy`s Tractor Boys are just one place outside of the play offs, but only on goal difference. They are also a place and two points ahead of Blues which makes Saturday`s game possibly our biggest of the season so far.
A Blues win will lift us above Ipswich, however, if Mick`s men win, they will have a five point cushion on us which will give them a massive boost.
I can see it being a tight encounter purely because both teams won’t want to lose. As the home team, Blues are more likely to go all out for the win and I am sure that Ipswich would happily take a point.
For me, I would love to see Blues try hard for the win but, nevertheless, avoiding defeat would still stand us in good stead.
We have already got through two tough away games in the past week and came out with four massive points. Confidence within the group is sure to be high and we have the ability to go out on Saturday and win the game.
I know Rowett is quite a cautious manager and will probably have a game plan in place that would settle for the draw. Saying that, look what happened against Derby.
There is also a following pack behind the likes of Blues, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday who are not far off the play offs themselves.
It is getting to that stage of the season where a few wins or a couple of defeats could make or break a season.
If Blues keep playing how they have been, they should have no trouble in picking up points and keeping pace with those top six.
We have lost just one game in our last eight games and are right up there in terms of the form book.
Blues are right in the mix at the moment and a positive result on Saturday will only benefit us, however, a defeat could seriously harm us.
Blues fans, do you agree that Saturday is massive for Blues? Can we get a win that could propel us back into the top six? Comment below!