West Ham v Birmingham, Saturday, February 9, 3pm (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

West Ham v Birmingham, Saturday, February 9, 3pm

9:17am Saturday 9th February 2008 in West Ham By Guardian-series

MATCH PREVIEW

LAST MEETING: Birmingham 0 West Ham 1 (Barclays Premier League, 18-08-07) LAST TIME AT UPTON PARK: West Ham 3 Birmingham 0 (Barclays Premier League, 13-02-06) HEAD-TO-HEAD: West Ham 30 wins, Birmingham 37 wins, 18 draws FORM: Birmingham looked like they had turned a corner under new boss Alex McLeish when they won 3-2 away at Tottenham in his first game in charge.

However, since then the Blues have picked up just one win in 11 games - their last coming at home to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day.

The club has slipped into the bottom three and are firmly in a relegation dogfight.

DANGER MAN: Birmingham are expecting big things from new signing James McFadden.

The Glasgow-born forward linked up with former Scotland boss McLeish when he joined from Everton for £4.75 mililon in the January transfer window.

The 24-year-old has a reputation for getting goals - he has banged in 13 in 36 games for his country and had notched eight goals for Everton this season prior to his move to St Andrews.

FUN FACT: Stand-up comedian Jasper Carrot (pictured) is a true Blues fan and often uses the team as a source for his material - among his famous lines about the club include "you draw some, you lose some" as well as remarks about supporting them "through thin and thinner".

Most recently, when asked what their promotion to the Premier League meant, he said: "It knocked 20 minutes out of my act".

PREDICTION: West Ham 3 Birmingham 0