Manchester United 5-0 Birmingham

Dimitar Berbatov scored his third hat-trick of the season as Manchester United turned in a five-star performance to demolish sorry Birmingham.

The prolific Bulgarian now has 18 goals this season and yet another match ball to go alongside those he collected against Liverpool and Blackburn earlier in the campaign.

More importantly for Sir Alex Ferguson, his side tightened their grip on top spot, with Ryan Giggs and Nani also finding the net as the leaders extended their unbeaten run this season to 22 games ahead of Tuesday's trip to Blackpool, the first of their matches in hand.

Berbatov for one will be looking forward to his first outing at Bloomfield Road, knowing just how much damage he is capable of inflicting.

Birmingham 1-1 Aston Villa

James Collins rescued a precious point for Aston Villa in a pulsating relegation clash with locals rivals Birmingham at St. Andrew's.

Blues defender Roger Johnson put Alex McLeish's side in front early in the second period. But Collins made no mistake from close range to salvage a share of the spoils for Villa.

Villa dominated the opening phase and final part of the game and hit the woodwork on three occasions. However, Birmingham also squandered several clear-cut opportunities.

Blues had defeated Villa in the Carling Cup quarter-final last month but Collins' point-saver means they have not beaten their rivals in a league game for nearly six years.

Villa made a positive start, with Stewart Downing playing just behind John Carew in a 4-1-4-1 formation, and could have taken the lead inside the first minute. Downing put Blues keeper Ben Foster under pressure and his clearance went straight to Gabriel Agbonlahor. He cut into the box unopposed but from 12 yards out fired over the bar.

Tottenham are understood to have accepted a bid from Birmingham for striker Robbie Keane.

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West Ham have been eager to sign Keane, 30, on loan but Harry Redknapp said in his press conference on Friday that a move was unlikely as he would only allow the player to leave on a permanent basis.

Avram Grant, though, said that he remained hopeful of a deal.

"We have a few targets we want to bring in," he said. "It's not a secret that I am friends with Harry and I speak with him every couple of days. He (Keane) is a player we want to bring for sure. We are dealing with this."

However, it appears Birmingham have now reached an agreement to pay an initial £4 million for Keane, with the deal potentially rising by £2 million via various add-ons and clauses.

Birmingham have been given permission to hold talks with Keane, but the deal is believed to be very much in its infancy.

Bentley: I can resurrect my career

David Bentley has vowed to prove that he still has the talent to be a Premier League success after completing a loan switch to Birmingham from Tottenham for the remainder of the season.

Bentley cost £15 million when he moved from Blackburn to White Hart Lane in the summer of 2008 but a lack of first-team opportunities has led to the 26-year-old making the temporary switch to the Midlands.

"It has been a difficult time for me the last couple of years," Bentley said. "I found it hard not being involved as much as I wanted at Tottenham. They have got some great players and you can find yourself the wrong side of the fence.

"But there was no fall-out with Harry Redknapp and it is time to put things aside, move on - and hopefully I can have a positive effect on Birmingham. The aim is to resurrect my career and I love football and just want to have the chance to be playing.''

Blue looking to get Keane

As revealed by skysports.com on Tuesday, Birmingham have opened talks with Tottenham about a deal for the Republic of Ireland international.

Discussions are believed to be at an advanced stage between both parties with Birmingham hoping to be able to have the green light to let Keane undergo a medical.

Blues boss Alex McLeish has made a new striker his top priority in this month's transfer window and it appears Keane could be on his way to St Andrews.

The 30-year-old is keen to leave White Hart Lane after dropping down the pecking order in Harry Redknapp's plans and Spurs are willing to let him move on.

Birmingham 2-1 Blackpool

Scott Dann's last-gasp strike at Blackpool earned Birmingham their first away win of the season with their 2-1 success also moving them out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Alexander Hleb pounced on a mistake by Stephen Crainey to put Blues ahead in the first half before DJ Campbell's 68th-minute equaliser.

Alex McLeish's side then sealed victory thanks to Dann's close-range effort with a minute of normal time remaining.

It was a dramatic conclusion to a pulsating game which saw the woodwork rattled once by the hosts and twice by the visitors.

Blackpool, playing at home for the first time since November 20, were slow to get out of the blocks and fortunate not to be a goal down within the opening two minutes.

Arsenal 3-0 Birmingham

Arsenal kept the pressure on the two Manchester clubs at the top of the Premier League as they overwhelmed Birmingham at rainswept St Andrew's.

A Robin van Persie free-kick and Samir Nasri's 13th goal of the season put the visitors in control before an own goal from Roger Johnson added to City's misery.

The Gunners remain in third spot, two points adrift of United and City, after a sixth away success of the season.

Arsenal were worthy winners and carved out a host of gilt-edged opportunities. Skipper Cesc Fabregas pulled the strings in midfield and City struggled to cope with the runs of Van Persie and Nasri. Only poor finishing and a couple of fine saves from Ben Foster kept the scoreline respectable.

Birmingham 1-1 Manchester United

Manchester United are set to end 2010 on top of the Barclays Premier League despite Lee Bowyer's late leveller for Birmingham at St Andrew's.

Dimitar Berbatov had followed his double in the Boxing Day win over Sunderland with what looked another decisive contribution to take his tally for the campaign to 15 goals.

But Bowyer, who had scored the winner against Chelsea last month, equalised to lift Birmingham out of the bottom three.

United's point enabled them to move ahead of Manchester City on goal difference - they also have two games in hand - and nudge seven points clear of champions Chelsea.

They are now unbeaten in 23 league games and have lost only two of 36 Premier League matches during the calendar year.

Edson Buddle gets tryout with Birmingham

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, England -- Los Angeles Galaxy striker Edson Buddle is trying out with Premier League club Birmingham during the Major League Soccer offseason.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is searching for a new forward. The central England club is two points above the three-team relegation zone after scoring just 17 goals in 17 matches.

The 29-year-old Buddle was the leading scorer in the MLS for most of the 2010 season despite missing more than a month for the World Cup. He ended the regular season as the second-highest scorer with 17 goals in 25 matches.

Wolverhampton 1-0 Birmingham

Wolves deservedly secured a 1-0 derby triumph over Birmingham which could have been all the more comfortable if not for the heroics of Ben Foster.

Stephen Hunt's near-post finish on the stroke of half-time was the only effort to beat the England international who put in another sublime performance to keep the hosts at bay at Molineux.

Wanderers triumphed with their first clean sheet since April, although that was much to do with Birmingham's inability to create anything of note.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy stoked the flames ahead of the derby by stressing the encounter was about more than just three points, and he will be a relieved man to see his side move within a point of safety with what was his first success over the blue half of Birmingham in seven league attempts.

Birmingham 1-1 Tottenham

Craig Gardner dented Tottenham's hopes of cementing a place in the Premier League top four with a late equaliser for Birmingham at St Andrew's.

Spurs had looked the better side in the opening period and deservedly took the lead through Sebastien Bassong's first goal for 16 months.

But Gardner salvaged a point for the Carling Cup semi-finalists 10 minutes from time with his fifth goal of the campaign.

The pace of Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale was always a threat to City and Jermain Defoe looked sharp in his first start since September.

Birmingham advances in game marred by fan violence.

Nikola Zigic put Birmingham through to their first Carling Cup semi-final for nine years with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in a hard-fought derby marred by ugly scenes at the end.

Thousands of Blues fans charged towards the Villa supporters and dozens of missiles and some flares were thrown before order was restored and City can expect to face Football Association action.

Zigic's deflected shot five minutes from time settled the tie after Gabriel Agbonlahor had cancelled out Sebastian Larsson's early penalty, as Villa were unable to deny City their first win over their local rivals for five-and-a-half years.

Carling Cup Action

11/30/2010-- Arsenal plays host to Wigan and West Ham plays host to Manchester United. 

• Wigan Athletic @ Arsenal
• Manchester United @ West Ham United

12/1/2010-- Birmingham, Aston Villa, and West Brom are all in action.

• Aston Villa @ Birmingham
• West Bromwich Albion @ Ipswich Town

Fulham 1-1 Birmingham

A second-half equaliser from Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey robbed Birmingham of their first away win of the season as both sides remained perilously close to the relegation zone in the Premier League.

City had enjoyed an interval lead thanks to a 19th-minute strike from Sebastian Larsson but Fulham salvaged a point through Dempsey's 53rd-minute header.

Fulham are still one place above the relegation zone and they are now without a win in their last five league games.

The Cottagers should have taken the lead in the fourth minute but a goalbound shot by Aaron Hughes was cleared off the line by Keith Fahey.

Birmingham 1 - 0 Chelsea

Birmingham keeper Ben Foster produced a superb performance as leaders Chelsea suffered successive Barclays Premier League defeats for the first time in more than four years.


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 Lee Bowyer's opening-half goal - his first for nearly 12 months - earned Alex McLeish's side a shock victory.

But their hero was Foster who bounced back from his error on England duty in midweek with a series of stunning saves.

Chelsea dominated proceedings for the entire 90 minutes but they could not find a way past the former Manchester United player.

Manchester City 0 - 0 Birmingham

Roberto Mancini felt the full weight of frustration as his Manchester City side were booed off after their second 0-0 draw in four days at Eastlands, this time against Birmingham.

Stoke City 3 - 2 Birmingham

Stoke survived another impressive comeback by Birmingham to bring their losing run to an end in a dramatic game at the Britannia Stadium.

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The Potters, who had been defeated in their last four Barclays Premier League fixtures, took a deserved first-half lead through Robert Huth and looked home and dry when Ricardo Fuller made it 2-0 in the 71st minute.

The Blues, as they had done on Saturday against West Ham, swiftly erased the deficit thanks to Keith Fahey and Cameron Jerome, but Dean Whitehead netted five minutes from time to win the contest.

Birmingham 2 - 2 West Ham United



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Former Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan was denied victory on his return to St Andrews as his current club West Ham surrendered a two-goal lead.

The bottom-placed Hammers looked set for a first away success of the campaign after Frederic Piquionne and Valon Behrami had put them in command.

But City substitute Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell salvaged a point for Alex McLeish's side.

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Birmingham

Birmingham were on the wrong end of more penalty controversy as they earned a share of the spoils in the derby clash at Aston Villa.
 
Alex McLeish's side had been beaten by a controversial spot-kick in the corresponding fixture last season.
This time Villa skipper Nigel Reo-Coker appeared to control the ball with his arm inside the box just before half-time - but the visitors' penalty appeals were rejected by referee Howard Webb.



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 Birmingham had the consolation of ending a run of six successive defeats against their local rivals.
But this was a game lacking in quality and will not remain long in the memory.

Birmingham 2 - 0 Blackpool