[kwik1980]

The West Midlands derby takes on a new importance as Wolves meet rival Birmingham for the first time in the Premier League. The match, at Molineux is sold out, and is the lunchtime Saturday fixture, live on Sky in the UK, and Fox Sports World in the US.

Unfortunately for Wolves, it also comes at a lousy time, as far as squad strength is concerned. Matt Murray, Colin Cameron, Nathan Blake, Issac Okoronkwo, Oleg Luzhny and Joleon Lescott are all out, while Hassan Kachloul is doubtful. Wolves have also failed to get a goalkeeper in time, their one shot at Aston Villa's Peter Enkelman denied because they already had taken Kachloul on loan, and league rules prohibit taking 2 loans from the same club. The plan is to put Carl Ikeme on the bench for this one, and use the international break to find a goalkeeper to bring in for the match with Everton on the 22nd. For Birmingham the only question marks are Damian Johnson, and Christophe Dugarry, though both could play.

From the BBC:

Wolves (From): Oakes, Irwin, Butler, Craddock, Naylor, Rae, Newton, Gudjonsson, Ince, Iversen, Camara, Kennedy, Miller, Iversen, Silas, Ikeme

Birmingham (From): Taylor, Tebily, Upson, Cunningham, Clapham, Dunn, Cisse, Clemence, Lazaridis, Dugarry, Forssell, Savage, Johnson, Bennett, Kenna, John, Hughes, Morrison.

Referee- Graham Barber

Last Meeting- 2-2, Division 1, March 2002

In a match related note, anyone watching on TV should try and take note of the fans. The Express and Star, and Wolves official site have posted pleas for the fans to stay seated during the match, or have parts of the ground (licensed as an all-seater) shut down for safety reasons. The club says that there is no problem with fans standing up after a goal, but apparently, fans are standing for "significant portions of the match", and that could get Wolves in trouble. Be interesting to see the fans reaction to this, as many on Molineux Mix are upset by this, though reading some of the posts, you get the feeling that some are missing the point, and think that the club wants fans to stay seated for everything, which is not the case.

In any event, should be a good match. Wolves might be struggling with injuries, and the bad end to the Middlesbrough match, but a home derby might just pick them up.

[SoccerFan8270]

FINAL:
Wolverhampton-1
Birmingham City-1