Sports
ASTON Villa were the last team to beat Manchester City, on 6 December, but can the defending champions exact revenge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday?
“Since that defeat, City have gone 23 games without defeat and, in terms of results, that’s incredible,” said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.
“But there is something amiss with them at the moment. I thought they would find a way to beat Arsenal, but now they have to beat Villa and I don’t think it’s going to be easy for them.”
Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.
For the midweek matches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he takes on UB40 drummer & Birmingham City fan Jimmy Brown.
Brown is not the only Blues fan in UB40 and the band have given one of their classic songs a revamp in honour of their beloved club.
Forever True is Birmingham City’s new anthem, with new lyrics set to the beat of Food For Thought, which is blasted out around St Andrew’s at the end of every winning game.
UB40 held a special concert at the stadium at full-time of Monday’s game against Preston where they played the new track and other songs from their new album, UB45, which celebrates 45 years of the band and is out on 19 April.
Jimmy is here to make predictions for Premier League games but it is the bottom of the Championship he is focused on at the moment, with Birmingham battling to avoid relegation to League One.
“Believe me when I say I’ve got my fingers, toes and every single thing crossed,” he told BBC Sport.
“I am very nervous, but I am hopeful as well. We’ve got a good manager in charge now with Gary Rowett back at the club but, however we do it, we just need to stay afloat.”
Jimmy grew up a stone’s throw away from St Andrew’s and has been a lifelong supporter of the club.
He explained: “I was born and brought up in Small Heath which is the same area as the ground, and I lived a 10-minute walk away, so I had to be a Blues fan really.
“My dad used to take me every week when I was really young and after a while I told him I wasn’t enjoying it. It smelled of old men and pies, and it would be 0-0 every week – it was kind of depressing and it put me off football for a few years.
“But then as I got a bit older I got back into it. I’d still be walking back home feeling miserable after the match, but that’s what football is like, isn’t it? You have got to take the rough with the smooth.
“We are not having a great time of it at the moment but there have been plenty of highs along the way.
“The best moment was probably winning the League Cup final against Arsenal in 2011. We were away touring at the time and we watched the first half on TV at an airport but then had to get on a plane.
“I thought we’d lost but then when we landed we got messages coming through that we’d actually won. We were all cheering on the plane, and I don’t suppose the other passengers knew why.”
Chris Sutton and Jimmy Brown were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
| Premier League – week 31 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| When? | Result | Sutton | Jimmy |
| TUESDAY, 2 APRIL | |||
| Newcastle v Everton | x-x | 1-2 | 1-1 |
| Nott’m Forest v Fulham | x-x | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Bournemouth v Crystal Palace | x-x | 2-1 | 0-1 |
| Burnley v Wolves | x-x | 1-1 | 1-2 |
| West Ham v Tottenham | x-x | 2-3 | 2-2 |
| WEDNESDAY, 3 APRIL | |||
| Arsenal v Luton | x-x | 3-0 | 3-1 |
| Brentford v Brighton | x-x | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| Man City v Aston Villa | x-x | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| THURSDAY, 4 APRIL | |||
| Liverpool v Sheff Utd | x-x | 5-0 | 2-0 |
| Chelsea v Man Utd | x-x | 2-1 | 1-2 |
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
2nd April, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: ASTON Villa Chris Sutton Jimmy Brown Manchester City
