Birmingham City extended their impressive unbeaten Premier League record at St Andrew’s to 17 matches with their 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, but missed an opportunity to create deeper problems for Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson.
This was the seventh draw between the two sides in as many meetings, but only the superb form of Spain international Pepe Reina enabled Liverpool to return home with something to show for such a below par performance, as their unimpressive start to the new campaign continues.
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish will certainly spend much of the week trying to work out how his impressive team, even without injured new loan signing Alexander Hleb, failed to record a victory that they fully deserved.
These are worrying times for Hodgson as he tries to re-establish Liverpool’s Premier League credibility.
This latest disappointment leaves his team seven points behind Chelsea and there are few signs they are capable of reclaiming the Champions League place they relinquished to Spurs last season.
They were second best for embarrassingly lengthy periods and his only consolation is that Birmingham did not punish them enough to reflect their domination.
Hodgson has been preaching that it will take time for him to mould the team at Anfield into his own image, but he will have been alarmed by the amount of work that needs doing on the evidence of an opening 45 minutes in which Liverpool were thoroughly outclassed.
It would not have been a travesty if Birmingham had headed to the dressing rooms at half-time with a three-goal advantage.
Hleb, on loan from Barcelona, failed to recover from a knee injury suffered playing for Belarus last week and other new signing Jean Beausejour was also left out of the squad, while Nikola Zigic was only introduced as an 89th-minute substitute as McLeish relied heavily on the side that performed so well for him last season.
The only reason they were denied victory their performance merited was the form of Liverpool ‘keeper Reina.
One punch prevented Cameron Jerome from converting at the near post. His earlier save from the Birmingham striker’s header, following Lee Bowyer’s cross, was of the highest order, palming the ball away with a strong right hand after it bounced dangerously in front of him.
Jerome said the save showed why Reina ranked as one of the world’s best keepers. “He’s up there with the best,” Jerome told Sky Sports.
Reina’s save low to his right, to prevent Craig Gardner’s header from finding the target from eight yards was even more impressive and Birmingham continued to fritter away chances.
Scott Dann somehow headed over the bar from a similar range, after Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick found him completely unmarked.
If the contribution of one of his Spanish contingent would have been reassuring, Hodgson will be perplexed by the lack of impact from another high profile member of the World Cup winning squad.
Fernando Torres, even though he was rested against Argentina last week, cut a sullen figure, indulged in one spiteful bout of arguing with his own team mates and mustered one shot, which Ben Foster beat away at the near post without too much discomfort.
They are the current leading soccer tipsters in this month competition. See also tipsters rankings.
eozam
posts a Over/Under - 1st Half tip on Anderlecht vs Cercle Brugge 11 minutes ago |
|
btl
posts a In-Play 1X2 tip on Kataller Toyama vs Shimizu S-Pulse 14 minutes ago |
|
btl
posts a In-Play Over / Under tip on Singha Chiangrai United vs Port FC 20 minutes ago |
|
btl
posts a In-Play Over / Under tip on Migori Youth vs Mara Sugar 21 minutes ago |
|
btl
posts a In-Play Over / Under tip on Blaublitz Akita vs Shonan Bellmare 21 minutes ago |
|
btl
posts a In-Play Double Chance tip on SC Wanderers vs Queensland Lions 22 minutes ago |
|
lumifun
posts a 1X2 tip on Chicken Inn vs Hwange 22 minutes ago |
|
lumifun
posts a 1X2 tip on Universitatea Cluj vs CSM Iaşi 22 minutes ago |
|
lumifun
posts a 1X2 tip on Zvijezda '09 Brgule vs Tuzla City 22 minutes ago |
|
lumifun
posts a 1X2 tip on Lamia vs PAOK 22 minutes ago |
Upcoming football matches with excellent head to head records over their opponents.
ThespaKusatsu Gunma vs Kashiwa Reysol |
Sign in to view more football matches.
Football clubs who play better for their home games H2H.
Qabala vs Zira |
Sign in to view more football matches.
Football clubs that play well for their away games.
SC Wanderers vs Queensland Lions |
Sign in to view more football matches.
Motivated teams after winning five matches in a row or they have maintained a ten-match unbeaten run. The bookmakers label them as favourites for a reason.
Teams in crisis after five consecutive defeats or they did not win their last ten football matches. You should avoid betting on these underdogs.
Teams having a draw in the last five matches.
Teams that have won all their home matches.
Dinamo Zagreb U19 |
Sign in to view more football teams.
Teams that have not won at away matches.
Aetos Varvaras |
Sign in to view more football teams.
This tipsters ranking is based on single picks excluding doubles and multi accumulators. For the full ranking click here.
Tipsters with consecutive winnings in their recent predictions.
Tipsters whom have lost a few matches in a row. Bad luck you call it.
I like soccer punter because it's free, enjoyable and no risk taking, you just give out your predictions without any charges,also it gives rewards to its members and upgrade them to platninum levels.
From as little as $1 per soccer tip.
|
Arbitrage is an effective way to make guaranteed profits without losing your money.
Analyze soccer matches, inclusive of past results, head to head stats, today match fixtures, live soccer odds, players and team form.
Check the latest and fastest live score results for all football matches. Know who are the goalscorers, yellow card and red card offenders.
Read up these useful tips for soccer betting.
Get the listings of soccer leagues and competitions for each region, including past seasons results and football statistics.
Want to bet on a match today? Check out the list of today match fixtures.
Read MoreGet the match results for all the soccer matches around the globe. Inclusive of half-time, full-time results.
Read MoreAre you an expert in soccer betting? Join SoccerPunter Tipsters competition to challenge against the top football tipsters and win prizes!
Read MoreCopyright © 2002-2024 SoccerPunter Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.
Be the first to comment: