Stoke boss Tony Pulis might be starting to sound like a broken record with his constant public outbursts of “criminal refereeing decisions” against his side but the Welshman does have a point.
Video evidence certainly reiterates Pulis’ argument that Stoke could easily be better placed than they are, languishing in 17th.
"I've managed nearly 800 games and I've never had a run where we've had six major decisions in 11 games that have gone against me or the football club. The massive disappointment for me is that we've played better this year than last year and the previous year, and if the big decisions weren't going against us we'd be on 15, 16, 17 points, instead of 10.
Every game is really difficult because we're not just playing against the opposition. For a league of this stature, the referees should be making better decisions," he added.
The Sky Sports cameras will be in attendance this Tuesday as Birmingham visit the Britannia for this midlands derby with both teams in need of a vital victory. One man’s performance that will be under heavy scrutiny particularly from the Stoke camp will be match referee Mark Clattenburg with Tony Pulis hoping he doesn’t follow his predecessors in crossing himself of his Christmas card list.
Although all the talk has been about poor officiating in the build up to this fixture, Pulis will be aware that Stoke have not been at their best either in previous weeks with their league position telling a sombre story. The Potters have lost four straight league games with a Carling Cup exit also sandwiched in between, their worst run in the top flight since relegation in 1985.
The tried and trusted “Fortress Britannia” has been a hostile cauldron for visiting teams since Stoke returned to the Premier League but one team yet to taste defeat there since its opening in 1997 is Tuesday’s visitors Birmingham City. After back-to-back defeats on the road, Stoke should be looking forward to returning home but in fact Birmingham has won three of their last four league and cup games at Stoke, keeping a clean sheet in each match. Stoke’s first ever season at their new home saw the Blues run out 7-0 winners in the old Division One; a day that will never be forgotten by both sets of supporters for different reasons.
Last seasons fixture over the Christmas period saw Birmingham snatch a 1-0 victory thanks to Cameron Jerome in a less than exciting encounter. Again the signs look ominous for a low scoring game as the Blues have only scored six times in their last eight league matches and the Potters failing to score in their last two outings.
Stoke’s dip in form has coincided with record signing, Kenwyne Jones’ drought in front of goal with the Trinidadian failing to score in his last five games. Interestingly though, the striker came close to joining Birmingham last January, when the Blues had a big-money bid for him rejected by Sunderland. Blues boss Alex McLeish instead bolstered his attacking options by signing Serbian target man Nikola Zigic, who was also rumoured to be linked with a move to Stoke.
Keen to impress will be Blues keeper Ben Foster making a return to his former club. Foster has impressed between the posts following his summer move from Manchester United replacing his England team-mate and last season’s player-of-the-year Joe Hart. Despite never playing a game for the Potters, Foster will be given a warm reception from the club that awarded him his first professional contract.
The Blues stopper should be prepared for an aerial bombardment with Pulis hinting he is likely to make changes to his wounded troops: “We'll shake it up a bit. There's a few broken hearts, but not too many injuries.”
This could mean a return for Rory Delap in midfield with Stoke resorting back to basics and the notorious long throws as they try to turn their fortunes around. One man also eager to start will be former Blues winger Jermaine Pennant, an obvious attacking threat for Stoke on home soil.
One enforced change ahead of the game is captain Ryan Shawcross, who serves a one-game ban following his late sending off at Sunderland. This will mean Robert Huth will revert back into the middle of the defence with Andy Wilkinson coming into an otherwise unchanged back four.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is likely to abandon the 4-3-1-2 formation he used for Saturday's draw with West Ham. McLeish could recall top scorer Craig Gardner and Jean Beausejour, both of whom impressed as substitutes against the Hammers, helping salvage a 2-2 draw after trailing 2-0 at St. Andrews.
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