Mido to Play for Spurs at Birmingham

Newspaper reports suggest that Egyptian striker, Mido, will be part of the Spurs squad which faces Birmingham City this evening at St. Andrews. It was rumoured that he had gone missing after a training ground row earlier in the week. However, the differences may have been resolved and could be available for selection.

This will strengthen Jol's hand for this game because without Mido, he had only Keane and defoe available as strikers. The Polish International, Rasiak, has gone on loan to Southampton and reserve striker, Barnard, has an injury doubt and is untried at this level. It will be a difficult game and will require a combative performance from the Spurs team and Mido has been an important part of their strategy during the season. At his best, he has combined well with both Keane and Defoe and has provided 'assists' allowing them to score a number of their goals as well as scoring 11 himself.

Spurs Record at St. Andrews:
April, 2005 Draw 1 - 1 Defoe
August 2004 Lost 0 - 1
November, 2002 Draw 1-1 Sheringham
March, 1986 Won 2 - 1 Stevens, Waddle
October, 1983 Won 1 - 0 Archibald

With Birmingham struggling against relegation, it is interesting and encouraging to note that Spurs last two wins were in years when City were eventually relegated. Hopefully, a good omen for today.

Both Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe have good scoring records against Birmingham. They scored the goals in this season's 2 - 0 home win on Boxing Day and Defoe scored in both games last season. Keane also scored in the home wins against them in two of the previous three seasons. There will surely be opportunities for them to improve on these records this evening.

Come On You Spurs!