Birmingham v Fulham preview

Birmingham will be confident of taking all three points when they host Fulham at St Andrews.

Managerless Fulham look to turn form around at Birmingham

Birmingham will be confident of taking all three points when they host Fulham at St Andrews.

Birmingham have had a mixed Christmas period under new boss Alex McLeish, losing 3-0 at Bolton on 22nd December before beating Middlesbrough by the same scoreline at home on Boxing Day.

But with Fulham - who are without a manager having sacked Lawrie Sanchez just before Christmas - not having won a game since 3rd November, caretaker boss Ray Lewington has a massive task on his hands to motivate his side.

Fulham earned a 1-1 draw in their first match under Lewington at home to Wigan on 22nd December before getting thrashed 5-1 by Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day.

Birmingham, now 14th in the table, currently sit four points clear of Fulham, who have just 14 points from 19 games and are third from bottom.

Blues boost

Birmingham have no fresh injury worries and could remain unchanged after the win over Boro, with McLeish praising Mikael Forssell and Franck Queudrue for their roles in the game.

The Blues boss is unlikely to take any chances in the game as he is desperate to get the edge over their relegation rivals.

"They are all cup finals and we have to treat each and every one like our last game," he told the club's official website.

"There is an edge to Saturday's game and we are very aware of the shot in the arm we would get from winning, so it should be an interesting one."

Forssell, too, has highlighted the importance of the game.

"Like Middlesbrough, they are around us in the table," he told the Birmingham Mail. "We are strong at home, the crowd were excellent, so let's keep this going.

"We must play the same way, with the same intensity and attack."

Massive game

Fulham, meanwhile, have several injury concerns, with captain Brian McBride likely to remain on the sidelines along with Lee Cook, who has yet to play for The Cottagers since his arrival from QPR in the summer.

Former Wigan midfielder Jimmy Bullard - who has not played since sustaining a knee injury in September 2006 - could also miss out despite making a return to full training before Christmas.

Moritz Volz will be suspended for the game after he was given two yellow cards in the defeat to Tottenham.

Lewington believes Fulham's poor form is because other sides are physically stronger, but feels they can get a positive result against Birmingham if they are prepared to battle for it.

"Physically we are not strong enough sometimes and even at set-pieces we always seem to be slightly smaller when we do the match-ups," he said.

"We've got to compensate for that because I don't think it's the players themselves who are the problem.

"They always give 100%, on and off the field. In training they are fine as well.

"We need to settle it down and be prepared to roll our sleeves up against Birmingham because it's a massive game for us now."