DID YOU KNOW?
* Everton manager David Moyes is the co-owner of the race horse Desert Cry. Moyes celebrated the Toffees beating Chelsea in the FA Cup by watching the horse ride to victory the very next day at Sedgefield.
* The recent League Cup victory for Birmingham City was Alex McLeish's first major trophy in English football.
* Everton have competed in more top flight seasons than any other side (108). Consequently the Toffees have lost more matches than any other in the top flight side (over 1440 defeats).
* The overall head to head record of these sides is firmly in favour of Everton, who have recorded 61 wins compared to Birmingham’s 26, with 35 draws.
* Of the last four meetings at Goodison Park, Everton have claimed victory only once, a 3-1 victory in November 2007. Yakubu, James Vaughan and future Blues man Lee Carsley with the goals for Everton.
* Birmingham’s League Cup victory was the first major trophy brought back to St Andrew’s since victory in the same cup in 1963. This gives City fans the prospect of European football to look forward to next season.
* One player of yesteryear who unites both sets of supporters is Bob Latchford. Latchford scored 68 times for City and was bought by Everton boss Harry Catterick for a British record £350,000 with future Everton manager Howard Kendall going in the other direction. He went on to score over a century of goals for Everton.
* Birmingham have seriously struggled to get goals on their travels this term. Twelve goals from 12 league games maybe contributing to their relegation fight. Everton have grabbed 21 league goals at Goodison so far this season.
* Both sides have indifferent form of late. Everton have two wins in their last five, excluding the penalty shootout win over Chelsea. Birmingham’s last two victories have come in cup competitions, a 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup and the aforementioned Wembley win over Arsenal in the League Cup.
* Neither side has any player with 10 goals or more this year. Louis Saha and Tim Cahill are both on nine, which makes the absence of the Australian Cahill all the more devastating for Everton. Birmingham’s leading scorer is Nikola Zigic with eight goals, although only five have come in the Premier League. Midfielder Craig Gardner’s seven goals put him second in the list.
LAST MEETING
October 2, 2010: Birmingham City 0-2 Everton
Everton finally recorded their first league win of the season, with Roger Johnson putting past his own goalkeeper before Tim Cahill's late header secured the victory. The match also brought an end to Birmingham's long unbeaten league run at home, which had lasted for over a year.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Everton: Howard; Hibbert, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Osman, Neville, Rodwell, Arteta; Beckford, Saha.
Birmingham City: Foster; Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell; Bentley, Bowyer, Fahey, Gardner, Larsson; Jerome.
Prediction
A close call this one. The bookies are giving 5/1 on a Birmingham win, long odds which would point to this being a difficult game for the Blues. These teams can’t be separated and a draw seems the most likely.
Everton 1-1 Birmingham 
