The Three Pointer Vs. Preston

Overview

Birmingham City are back in action at St. Andrew`s tomorrow as they host Preston, looking to halt a run of four straight defeats.

We might’ve lost the game on Tuesday against Leeds, but the result didn’t tell the whole story and our performance certainly warranted more.

It’s not often that you come back from watching a match that your team has lost feeling positive. Blues were very impressive on Tuesday, particularly in the second half and I believe that it’s a matter of time before the results start to follow.

There were, however, a couple of big blows after Jota and Che Adams picked up hamstring injuries. Our luck at the moment with that type of injury is unbelievable.

They’ll both miss tomorrow’s encounter and we`re probably not going to see them in action again for at least a few weeks which is a shame because they’re both massive players for us.

But, we have to put that behind us and focus on what is going to be another difficult test. Alex Neil`s Preston lie fifth in the table after a strong start, but are still searching for their first away win of the season.

Approach

It was my understanding that Harry Redknapp was keen to move forward with a five at the back formation.

However, in the last two games, he’s deployed a 4-3-3 system that has allowed the likes of Jeremie Boga and Jota to play wide and drift in.

I’d expect the Blues boss to stick with that tomorrow, perhaps bringing Jacques Maghoma into the side to replace the injured Jota.

What’s become evident from the last couple of games is that we’re starting to become a side that has more possession of the ball.

That’s because we’ve got the technical players in the team that are happy to do that, so I’m expecting the same against Preston.

What we’ve got to ensure, though, is that we don’t concede early. We’ve done this too often lately and haven’t been able to find a way back into the game.

Exploit

Preston have conceded just two goals all season which is extremely impressive. However, apart from their 3-0 success over Cardiff in midweek, they haven’t particularly scored many either (6).

I can see this game being very tight and one that is won by a solitary goal. It’s likely to be a battle of the two midfields, whose defence can stay strong and then who takes their chance when it comes.

Blues have got to improve in front of goal, there’s no two ways about it. But, I do feel like we`re getting closer to being where Redknapp wants us to be as a team.

If we get to grips with the game early on and keep Preston`s attack fairly quiet, then I’ve got faith that we can work the ball and eventually get a golden chance that, hopefully, we`ll finally take.

It sounds simple, but it really is just a case of hitting the back of the net. When that first goal goes in for us, the confidence should shoot through the team and that will be a huge bonus.

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