Tag Archives: wait

Blues face anxious derby wait

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Birmingham midfielder Alexander Hleb is in a race against time to be fit for Sunday’s derby with Aston Villa (14/1 – Premier League Top-4 Finish) after suffering a knee injury in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Blackpool.

The former Arsenal man was forced to leave the pitch 15 minutes from the end of the Premier League win and is already a concern for the weekend.

Hleb, on a season-long loan from Barcelona, seems almost certain to sit out Tuesday’s Carling Cup tie against Brentford but Blues (16/1 Top Six Finish 2010-11) will hope for better news later in the week.

Alex McLeish remains hopeful that the Belarus international will be ready for the Second-City derby, but was wishing he had replaced Hleb earlier.

The Scot said: “At half-time I said to Alex ‘give me 15 minutes of magic and we will get you off’. It went a bit longer than that and all of a sudden he had a little twist in his knee which we are concerned about.

“We have to wait to see how it is, but he is a brave guy. I just hope there is no serious damage.”

Another concern for McLeish is winger Jean Beausejour, who has missed the last two matches after injuring his knee ligament.

The summer signing was short of match fitness when he joined Blues and has yet to start in the Premier League.

Birmingham say they don’t want to take “any unnecessary risks” with Chile international, but may decide to give him a run out in midweek.

It will be a much-changed team that takes to the field for the League Cup encounter (Birmingham 3/10, Draw 18/5, Brentford 9/1 – Match Betting), with McLeish having one eye on the trip to Villa Park.

The manager admits that there will be “enforced changes” as Blues look to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

McLeish added: “One or two will definitely need to rest and players have been playing with injections.

“That has been the case with three or four of them over the last few weeks, and that just can’t last forever because you will burn them out.”

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Scotland wait on McGregor

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Scotland coach Craig Levein is hoping to have goalkeeper Allan McGregor fit for their Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Spain as they aim to keep alive their hopes of reaching Poland and the Ukraine in two years’ time (No 1/10 Yes 11/2 – Scotland To Qualify For Euro 2012).

Scotland currently lead Group I (16/1 Group Winner) after securing four points from their opening matches against Lithuania and Liechtenstein.

However, they will face some of their toughest tests in the coming week when they travel to the Czech Republic in Prague on Friday and then face reigning World and European champions Spain at Hampden four days later.

And Levein is looking for Rangers shot-stopper McGregor to shake off a thigh injury in time to play in both matches given that Sunderland’s Craig Gordon is not deemed to be fully fit following a long-term arm injury, while Blackpool’s Matt Gilks has pulled out the squad after suffering a dead leg.

Kilmarnock 24-year-old Cammy Bell has received his first call-up to the Scotland squad, but Levein will not want to throw an inexperienced international custodian into battle against such top opposition.

Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot is missing due to a foot injury, while his club team-mate Lee McCulloch is carrying a hip problem in addition to being suspended for the Czech game.

Therefore Levein has drafted in Watford midfielder Don Cowie and Cardiff defender Kevin McNaughton as cover, while he will hope Tottenham Hotspur right-back Alan Hutton and Barnsley left-back Jay McEveley recover from slight knocks in time for Friday.

Levein said: “Players are being assessed at this moment.

“I can tell you Kirk Broadfoot will go back to his club. He has a foot problem and it is safest if he isn’t involved.

“Lee is another that I don’t know about yet.

“Matt Gilks has a problem with a dead leg, Alan Hutton is a bit sore in his groin and Jay McEveley has a problem as well.”

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Germany wait on key man

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Germany striker Miroslav Klose (5/1 to win the World Cup Golden Boot) will have a late fitness test ahead of Saturday evening’s World Cup 2010 third-place play-off against Uruguay.

The 32-year-old, who is one strike away from equalling Ronaldo’s World Cup goal record, suffered a back injury in the semi-final defeat to Spain.

Klose, who has four goals in the tournament, missed Friday’s final training session but Germany remain upbeat about his prospects of facing Uruguay in Port Elizabeth (Uruguay 19/5, Draw 14/5, Germany 7/10 – Match Betting).

Assistant coach Hansi Flick admits it will be Klose “who will decide” whether he is fit to play, with the squad keen to help him reach the impressive goalscoring feat.

Flick stated: “He can go down in history if he scores one or two goals. The whole team wants to help him do it.”

Germany will also make late decisions on Philipp Lahm and Lukas Podolski having been suffering with a bout of flu this week, which has also laid low coach Joachim Low.

Midfielder Thomas Muller is also set to return to the starting line-up after suspension, while Joachim Low has minor doubts over Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil.

Assistant Flick, who faced the press conference in the absence of Low, insists that the squad will be going all out for victory, despite outside apathy about the third-place match.

Low’s number two stated: “Third place is our minimum target and the match allows us to finish on a positive note.

“We are facing a Uruguayan side who are hard to unsettle, but we have shown against England and Argentina that the players are not frightened by this task.”

Meanwhile, the South Americans will look to Diego Forlan to deliver the goods, with four goals in the tournament so far.

The Atletico Madrid frontman picked up a slight thigh problem in the semi-final loss to the Netherlands, forcing him to be withdrawn in the last five minutes.

But Forlan is expected to start and is likely to be paired alongside Luis Suarez, who is available again after suspension following his sending-off against Ghana.

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has warned Germany that they will “fight to the death” and that Saturday’s game is very important to them.

Tabarez insisted: “We will go in with the same commitment and enthusiasm as always. We will prepare to fight to the death.”

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