[h=3]Ward reckons Blues will fancy their chances[/h]11:00am Saturday 11th January 2014 in Albion By Brian Owen
Stephen Ward on his Albion debut at Birmingham
Stephen Ward expects Birmingham City to shrug off four key absences and fancy their chances at The Amex.
Blues come south unbeaten in ten games, including four wins and two draws from their last six away fixtures.
*But they have recently seen giant defender Dan Burn and attackers Jesse Lingard and Aaron Mclean return to their parent clubs after loan stints.
Burn’s defensive sidekick Kyle Bartley looks set to miss out with a hamstring problem.
Fulham are likely to agree to Burn returning to Birmingham in the coming days.
Ward, who made his debut for the club in the 1-0 win at St Andrew’s, denies the Seagulls are catching them at a good time.
The on-loan left-back said: “I think we are probably catching them at a time when they will be full of confidence no matter who is out there for them.
“They have had some very decent results against teams at the top end of the table.
“We are under no illusions it is going to be a tough game from the game we played them up there at St Andrew’s.
“They will be expecting to get a result because of the form they are in.”
Blues are expected to switch experienced defender Paul Robinson, who made an impressive debut for the club in last season’s unexpected 1-0 win at The Amex, to centre-back alongside Will Packwood, who recently returned from a loan stint at Bristol Rovers.
The 6ft 8in Serb striker Nikola Zigic leads their attack with Chris Burke and Lee Novak among the danger men working off him in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.
Original article
Stephen Ward expects Birmingham City to shrug off four key absences and fancy their chances at The Amex.
Blues come south unbeaten in ten games, including four wins and two draws from their last six away fixtures.
*But they have recently seen giant defender Dan Burn and attackers Jesse Lingard and Aaron Mclean return to their parent clubs after loan stints.
Burn’s defensive sidekick Kyle Bartley looks set to miss out with a hamstring problem.
Fulham are likely to agree to Burn returning to Birmingham in the coming days.
Ward, who made his debut for the club in the 1-0 win at St Andrew’s, denies the Seagulls are catching them at a good time.
The on-loan left-back said: “I think we are probably catching them at a time when they will be full of confidence no matter who is out there for them.
“They have had some very decent results against teams at the top end of the table.
“We are under no illusions it is going to be a tough game from the game we played them up there at St Andrew’s.
“They will be expecting to get a result because of the form they are in.”
Blues are expected to switch experienced defender Paul Robinson, who made an impressive debut for the club in last season’s unexpected 1-0 win at The Amex, to centre-back alongside Will Packwood, who recently returned from a loan stint at Bristol Rovers.
The 6ft 8in Serb striker Nikola Zigic leads their attack with Chris Burke and Lee Novak among the danger men working off him in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.
Original article