The Three Pointer Vs. Burton

Overview

After playing three games at St. Andrew`s in the space of a week, Birmingham City face a trip to Burton Albion tomorrow evening in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

It will be a game which Blues will see as a good opportunity to win, but we also thought that on Tuesday – where we were unable to find the quality to breakdown Bolton in a game that ended goalless.

We’re short on creativity, there’s no doubting that and Harry Redknapp needs to make do with what he’s got until he strikes lucky in the transfer window.

It’s been an extremely frustrating period for the Blues boss and we saw another transfer slip through his fingers after Ogenyi Onazi was denied a work permit, despite everything else being in place for him to join.

But, we still have football matches to focus on and it’s crucial that we pick up points in the early weeks.

Nigel Clough`s side have lost all three of their Championship games so far but that means absolutely nothing and Blues need to be right at it against them.

Approach

Blues came up against a three-at-the-back formation in the last game and it’s likely that Burton will line-up that way as well.

With that in mind, I’d imagine that Blues will opt to go 4-5-1 again with three central midfielders to match Burton`s approach.

It could well leave the lone striker isolated – as Clayton Donaldson was on Tuesday, but that’s where we need to get runners around the target man.

Whether it be Maikel Kieftenbeld, Cheikh Ndoye or David Davis, we need a runner in midfield to put in the work and defend from the front, supporting the forward.

I don’t imagine it will be a game full of quality, so Blues will have to be gritty and stick to a game plan, which I expect will be to nick a goal and frustrate the Brewers.

Exploit

After taking a look at all seven of the goals Burton have conceded so far this season, it’s clear that they’ve got defensive problems.

In particular, the space in between the centre back and the wing backs is an area which Blues should look to get in behind and exploit.

Clough`s side also aren’t looking sharp on the second balls so if Blues can get in and around their penalty area, then there’s always a chance that we could benefit from the loose balls.

In the latter stages of the game, the pace of Isaac Vassell is something that could seriously hurt Burton on the break and against tired legs – Blues will keep that in mind.

They’ll be looking to get their season up and running but Blues have got to silence their fans early on and prevent them from playing.

If we can do that and gradually build, then I’ve got the confidence that we can grab the win. The performance, however, must be so much better than the one against Bolton on Tuesday if we’re going to give ourselves a chance of clinching a second win of the campaign.

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