Soccer Games: Birmingham City face up to £90 million game

This week, Birmingham City striker Kevin Phillips described his side's upcoming clash with Tottenham Hotspur as being "a £90 million game" when he equated it to the value of the Championship play-off final. A club coming up into the Premier League can expect significant increases in revenue, and by the same token, a club being relegated from the country's top tier of football can expect to lose out on a similar amount. The West Ham board have already admitted that they will have to sell the majority of their recognised stars to compensate for the massive drop in income when they start next season in the Championship – and that's the sort of fate that City fans simply can't begin to contemplate. Those following the football online betting will be aware just how poor they have been lately.

By the same token, Spurs will be pulling out all the stops to qualify for the Europa League next season ahead of Liverpool, who know that any combination of results that sees them take more points from their game against Aston Villa that Tottenham do against City will allow them to put a tough season behind them in style.

At least Birmingham's fate is in their hands - they will start the day outside the relegation zone, and so long as they at least equal the results of the relegation candidates, they will remain there. There are never any easy games in the Premier League, but fortunately for City consolation can be sought in the fact that Blackpool and Wigan have some of the toughest fixtures of their season - away from home at Manchester United and Stoke respectively. Those placing Premier League bets should bear this in mind.

Next season will see European football brought to St Andrew's following their Carling Cup heroics, and with all due respect to the Championship, it would be a shame to see their adventure unfold in between matches against the likes of Brighton and Doncaster. It's up to Birmingham to ensure that doesn't happen – and McLeish will have to call upon all of his experience – as well as the experience of his players – to prove that their cup heroics turn out to have been more than just an unwelcome distraction from their primary objective when the season began.