Great festive deals at St Andrews

Birmingham City have confirmed that any ticket purchased for the home game against Swansea City on the 28th December will be issued with a free ticket for our home game against Reading on the 20th December. Two games for the price of one!!

Tickets are still available and can be picked up from the ticket office at St Andrews or by calling 0844 557 1857 and selecting option 2.

This offer is valid up until 12:45pm on Saturday 20th December 2008 and your free ticket will be issued in the same seat for both games.

This deal is not available online and the offer is only available in the Spion Kop Stand, rows 1-18.

Click here to view the full fixture list for 2008/2009.

Carsley breaks duck

Plymouth 0-1 BLUES

Lee Carsley scores his first goal for Blues to secure all three points for McLeish's men at Home Park tonight.

Blues who were battered throughout by the home side snatched a vital win especially with teams around them pushing for promotion also winning.

The Pilgrims started the better applying early pressure to a make shift Blues backline. McLeish was forced make several changes to the side that beat Watford on Saturday.

Liam Ridgewell failed to recover from a virus and therefore Martin Taylor kept his place at the heart of the Blues defence. Seb Larsson was also ruled out after picking up a strain at the weekend. James McFadden (groin) also missed the trip to Home Park and was replaced by Quincy down the left hand side.

McLeish got his boys in 0-0 at the break but Plyouth picked up from where they left off in the early stages after the break with on loan striker Paul Gallagher and Rory Fallon causing the visitors major problems, which thankfully Maik Taylor was equal too.

Having weathered the storm Blues did begin to get a foothold in the game when Quincy broke clear inside the box only to see his effort crash against the bar and get cleared for a corner as Blues attacked the end consisting of the 791 Blues fans that made the long trip down to the south coast.

Blues broke the deadlock from the resulting corner as the ball broke loose inside the area and saw Carsley finish to score his first goal for his new club. Emotion was there for all to see as Carsley ran away to celebrate with the away fans who went wild as the ball hit the back of the net.

Blues had half an hour remaining and stood tall throughout with a battling spirit which revealed the signs of champions. Cameron Jermome came on for the last 15 minutes in replace of Marus Bent and helped by some much needed time for Blues late on with his pace causing real dangers.

Jerome could have wrapped it up with five minutes remaining when he blasted over from six yards out after Stuart Parnaby had worked the opportunity well down the right. But it wasn't meant to be as Blues were forced to hold out right to the end and when the whistle ended proceedings, their relief was shown as they celebrated a quite determined away win despite Plymouth throwing everything at Blues.

Wolves beat Derby 3-0 and Reading also won at home 1-0 against struggling Blackpool. A great win for Blues away from home considering the injuries and they now go to Preston on Saturday night for a 5.20pm kick off.

Plymouth v Blues preview

Alex McLeish will be hoping that his Blues side will be flying high at the top of the table tonight after they boarded a plane this morning to travel to Plymouth for tonights Championship clash.

Blues have added to their injury worries this week as there are several absentees for the game on the south coast. Gary O'Connor (groin) Stephen Kelly (knee) Gary McSheffrey (knee) and James McFadden (groin) all remain on the sidelines along with Seb Larsson and David Murphy who have also picked slight strains and look set to miss the game.

The only other doubt going into the clash is Liam Ridgwell who is recovering from a virus that saw him miss his first game of the season on Saturday against Watford.

For Plymouth striker Emile Mpenza misses out along with skipper Karl Duguid who has a calf strain. Therefore Plymouth look set to go with Rory Fallon and Steven MacLean up top.

The Pilgrims have struggled so far this season not really been able to find any form of late sitting 11th in the Championship and with Blues putting the pressure on leaders Wolves they must see this game as a chance to bring home all three points. Wolves entertain Derby at the Molineux while Reading host Blackpool at the Madejski Stadium.

Match Odds

Plymouth 2/1 Draw 12/5 Blues 5/4

BLUES 3-2 Watford

Another 3-2 thriller at St Andrews earns McLeish's men their third successive home victory against Watford to move within three points of table-topping Wolves.

Blues didn't have it all their own way early on as the visitors toke the lead through Tamas Priskin after the Blues defence were left wanting after only seven minutes.

Kevin Phillips hit back however one minute later with a trade mark header from 12 yards out and it was a superb strike from Marcus Bent on 18 to complete the quick fire come back and earn his first goal at St Andrews this season.

McLeish had made three changes to the side that drew at Wolves last weekend. Liam Ridgwell (virus) and James McFadden (groin) were unavailable for selection and saw Martin Taylor and Quincy come in to replace them. The other change saw Sebastian Larsson come back into the starting 11 in place of David Murphy having missed the trip to the Molineux for personal reasons.

Blues took a well deserved 2-1 lead into half time after an early scare bought the home side alive. After the break Watford came out the better side as they went in search of an equaliser and on the hour mark Blues did have the woodwork to thank for retaining their advantage when a 35 yard free kick from Leigh Bromby hit the bar and went over.

On 73, Bent made way for Cameron Jerome who received a deserved standing ovation for his efforts and on 85 Jerome looked to have sealed the points when he went through into the box on the left hand side and curled a Beckham-esque attempt against the Tilton Road End to the relief of the Blues faithful.

With only a minute of normal time remaining Blues made it difficult for themselves again as the hosts failed to clear an in-swinging corner that fell loose and saw Ross Jenkins smash the ball home past Maik Taylor to give Blues fans a nervy four minutes of injury time.

Blues held on despite the late efforts of the visitors and with Wolves going down in London 1-0 at QPR, McLeish's men move within three points of their promotion rivals.

Team news for Watford visit

Blues boss Alex McLeish has no fresh injury concerns going into tomorrow's championship clash with Watford. Sebastian Larsson returns to the squad after flying home last weekend end for personal issues.

McLeish has confirmed that the only players he will be without going into the game are Gary O'Connor (groin) Stephen Kelly (knee) Gary McSheffrey (knee) and Damien Johnson (back)

Stuart Parnaby returns to the squad however McLeish has told the full back he will have to fight for his place back in the starting 11.

Kevin Phillips who only played the first half at the Molineux has also reached the peak of fitness and is back into contention for visit of the Londoners. Gary O'Connor and Gary McSheffrey are making progress in terms of their injuries but there is no definite return date for the them.

BLUES v Wolves cup tie details

Blues' FA Cup third round tie against Championship promotion rivals Wolves has now been confirmed to take place on Saturday 3rd January 2009 at 3pm.

If a replay should be needed after 90 minutes at St Andrews the return leg is scheduled for Tuesday 13th January 2009 at 7.45pm. Ticket prices for that game if it is required will be released nearer the date.

Birmingham City have confirmed that season ticket holders as from December 1st 2008 will receive free entry for this game by simply producing a voucher from their book which will be announced at the game.

Ticket details for non-season ticket holders has yet to be confirmed and will follow.

BLUES v Watford ticket details

This Saturday's league encounter against Watford has been branded a 'kids for a quid' game. Tickets are now on general sale.

Tickets for this game will be available to buy on the day but the Birmingham City ticket office has advised all fans to buy tickets in advance to avoid queuing by calling 0844 557 1875 or visiting the ticket office outside the main stand at St Andrews.

If you do wish to purchase a ticket on the day ensure you arrive two hours before k.o to avoid busy periods.