Under 2.5 goals

Early kick offs spoil derby games in my opinion so i dont see many goals in this one.

Birmigham are going pretty well at the moment- maybe not great to watch but Eck has built a very solid side that does not give much away. I think hes improved greatly since his days at Rangers- and with the national team- its fair to say hes one of the top british managers now.

Just 2 wins for the season so far. Not great but sitting in 13th position everyone at Bham will be happy with that. Ofcourse the supporters would be delighted if their side could go to Villa and win. A decent start would become a fantastic one.

Villa changed managers as Oneill walked and Houllier took the job. I must admit i find that a bit of a strange move. He does have all the experience in the world but i wonder if his days as a top coach are behind him now. Its hardly been an outstanding start- sneaking past Burnley in the Carling Cup and losing to a very poor Sunderland side. I cant help thinking that losing Martin Oneill is something thats going to affect the club over the next few years.

I have a feeling this game is going to be woeful to watch. Maybe interesting because its a derby and no doubt the tackles will be flying in- but not in terms of fast open football. Bham will be delighted to come here and sneak a point that will be the tactics from Mcleish- and Villa do tend to struggle against side that sit in and put numbers behind the ball.

Im expecting a very close game with defences on top so under should be the call.

under 2.5 goals with blue sq at 1.80