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| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
CHELSEA  CechBosingwa, Luiz, Cahill, Bertrand Meireles, Lampard, Essien Sturridge, Torres, Mata | BIRMINGHAM  MyhillCarr, Caldwell, Davies, Murphy Fahey, Mutch, Spector, Elliot, Burke Rooney |
Having failed to win in their last four games in the Premier League, Chelsea, and boss Andre Villa-Boas in particular, will welcome a distraction from their inconsistent campaign, and a victory over Birmingham City might just be the right tonic.
Ashley Cole and Ramires will miss out with calf and knee injuries respectively. Captain John Terry could feature, despite suffering from a knee injury, but new-boy Gary Cahill is expected to deputise. Didier Drogba remains on Afcon leave, so Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge will lead the line.
Chris Hughton’s side will not prove easy opposition on Saturday. Having been relegated last season, they currently sit in the playoff positions and will feel confident of their chances for an immediate return to the top flight.
Central-midfielder Guirane N'Daw is the only casualty that Hughton suffers from, with Keith Fahey his most likely replacement. The manager also confirmed earlier in the week that striker Nikola Zigic will not play, while Marlon King is also expected to miss out.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Birmingham beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League last season.
- Fernando Torres (pictured right) hasn't netted in his last 19 games since grabbing a brace against Genk in mid-October.
- Birmingham have scored the most goals, 18, in the final 10 minutes of games in the Championship.
- The last time Chelsea had fewer points after 25 games in the Premier League than their current total of 43 was way back in 2000-01, when they had 37.
- The Championship side are unbeaten in their last thirteen games, with seven wins in their most recent nine games.
- Their defensive prowess is also noteworthy, having conceded the second-lowest amount in the division, behind Hull City.
- Out of 15 games played between the two sides in all competitions, Chelsea have only lost once.
- The two sides have faced each other just once before in the FA Cup. Chelsea won 1-0 in the fourth round of the 2004-05 campaign.
You would fully expect Chelsea to overcome the lower-division side, purely because of the obvious gulf in class between the two. In fact, victory for Villas-Boas may be necessary to keep the wolves from the door and anything else would be an utter disaster.
Opposite number Chris Hughton will not be expecting anything from the game and, at the risk of sounding patronising, will be happy to focus solely on a vital promotion push without the distraction of FA Cup football. However, the home side’s defence is all over the place at the moment, so they have a very good chance of grabbing a goal.
Opposite number Chris Hughton will not be expecting anything from the game and, at the risk of sounding patronising, will be happy to focus solely on a vital promotion push without the distraction of FA Cup football. However, the home side’s defence is all over the place at the moment, so they have a very good chance of grabbing a goal.
Editor's Prediction
Chelsea 3-1 Birmingham 
