FA Cup Fourth Round

By Tim Robertson
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Birmingham City will take aim at another Premiership scalp in this weekend’s FA
Cup fourth round.

Having humiliated Newcastle in a 5-1 win at St James’ Park, the Blues host Reading on Saturday, and despite what the league table says Royals manager Steve Coppell believes his team should not travel to the midlands with the idea that they are facing a Championship side.

Birmingham, hit hard by injury, went down last season but look like coming straight back up as they sit second in the Championship with two games in hand on leaders Derby.

“If you look at the season they had last year injuries determined their season,” Coppell said. “If they had had all their personnel available they would still be a Premiership club.

“I would see them as a Premiership club even though, at the moment, they are outside it. And given their position in the league, they are rehearsing for the Premiership now.

“Just
look at the money they have spent since last summer. They have spent significant amounts of money mainly on strikers and they have serious intent. They want to play in the top flight and they have invested to do that.”

Indeed, Steve Bruce demonstrated his determination to push for the Premiership on Friday when he insisted that West Ham target Matthew Upson is not for sale.

Bruce has already rejected bids of £4 million and £6 million for the want-away defender, and told West Ham not to bother bidding again.

“He is not going, full stop,” Bruce said. “Whether it is £8million, £9million, £10million, it wouldn’t matter.”

With the new TV deals kicking in next season, Bruce knows that a return to the Premiership would be worth far more to Birmingham than any fee they could get for Upson now.

Birmingham won this fixture in the
Cup after a replay last season, but are well-fancied to do the job in one go this time at home.

Bruce will field the same team that embarrassed Newcastle, while Reading are without defender Ibrahima Sonko and striker Kevin Doyle.

WagerWeb cannot split them, offering both at +150, but it is tempting to back Birmingham to do the job at St Andrews.

Another Premiership club that has Championship opposition is Blackburn, who must travel south to face Luton Town, managed by former player Mike Newell.

Newell was a member for the Rovers team that won the Premiership title in 1995, but he does not intend to do his old employers any favours on Saturday afternoon.

“We had a great few years there and we had great spirit,” Newell said of his time in Lancashire. “A lot of the players were at the top of their game and a lot of them went
on to be even better than they were at Blackburn.

“That time is something to look back on when you finish playing, which I have done, but it won’t give us any advantage at all on Saturday.”
Luton are at the wrong end of the Championship, and unlike Birmingham, do not have the sort of winning form that might worry Blackburn.

But Newell’s teams are nothing if not battle-hardened, and with Blackburn now minus skipper Robbie Savage through injury, the +300 odds being offered in favour of Luton do seem a little generous.

Middlesbrough face a potential banana skin as they head to high-flying League One side Bristol City.

Gareth Southgate’s team are nothing if not unpredictable. Quite where last week’s 5-1 win over Bolton came from, no one quite knows, nor would anyone have been too surprised if that scoreline had been reversed.

Whichever version of Boro turns up at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon will face a man in form as City striker Enoch Showumni has scored in each of his last five games.

The 24-year-old came into the game late but is blossoming after three years as a professional.

“He is not the finished article yet but he has been performing very well recently,” manager Gary Johnson said. “He is on a good run of form and hopefully that will continue against Middlesbrough.”

City will have a sell-out crowd cheering them on in hope of a win that would be surely the biggest upset of the fourth round if they pull it off, but they must overcome a confident Boro team and odds of -110 in favour of the Premiership club.

In London, Tottenham will look to rebound from the disappointment of Wednesday’s 2-2 Carling Cup draw with Arsenal when they face
Southend at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had led 2-0 against what was effectively an Arsenal youth team, but they were lucky to hold on for a draw by the end.

Southend were one of their victims early in the Carling Cup, and the Shrimpers will return to London intent on revenge having only lost that last game to a late and distinctly offside Jermaine Defoe goal in extra time.

Southend are battling relegation from the Championship, but far from seeing this game as a distraction, manager Steve Tilson is happy to have a game where the pressure is all on the opposition.

“You can’t ask for anymore than to test yourself against Premiership opposition and we will travel down in high spirits looking to cause an upset,” he said.
“We played ever so well in our last meeting but I’m sure it will be even tougher for us on Saturday.”

Spurs are offered at -450 on WagerWeb.com with Southend at +900, but the last meeting suggested things might not be so straightforward.

There are also two all-Premiership meetings to consider as Portsmouth travel to Manchester United and West Ham host Watford.

It’s difficult to dispute United’s status as overwhelming favourites (they are offered at -350) to beat Pompey given their home form this season, but the other game is harder to call.

WagerWeb.com has West Ham as favourites at -125, but Watford will be buoyed by Tuesday’s win over Blackburn and – like Southend – will seek to enjoy a day away from the relegation scrap.