Sven: real test is still to come

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON is already looking forward to Christmas. The Manchester City manager believes the hectic festive programme will give a true indication of how good his side are, although a run of six successive home wins suggests December will not hold any unpleasant surprises.

City’s supporters are already daring to dream of Europe after Elano’s winner in the 37th minute – his fourth goal in three games.

Eriksson remains as cautious as ever, despite his side lying third in the table. “The satisfaction is to be high in the table in the middle of May,” he said. “Our big test will come when we play every second day over Christmas and new year.”

Elano only arrived back at the Carrington training ground on Friday following his part in Brazil’s defeat of Ecuador.

Yet he was bright enough to score the only goal of the game in the 37th minute after Michael Johnson and Vedran Corluka had been involved in the build-up.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-1-1): Hart 7, Corluka 7, Richards 6, Dunne 7, Garrido 7, Ireland 8 (Ball 80, 7), Johnson 7, Hamann 6, Petrov 7, Mpenza 6 (Samaras 65, 6), Elano 9 (Gelson 89, 6).

Subs not used: Isaksson, Geovanni.

BIRMINGHAM CITY (4-14-1): Maik Taylor 7, Kelly 7, Schmitz 7 (Danns 87, 6), Ridgewell 6, Queudrue 7, McSheffrey 6 (De Ridder 58, 8), Palacios 6, Muamba 7, Nafti 6 (O’Connor 76, 6), Kapo 7, Jerome 7.

Subs not used: Kingson, Sadler.

REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 5 Looked uncomfortable at Eastlands and struggled to keep up with the pace of the game.

MATCH RATING: *** City march on, albeit rather unconvincingly. Sven should be thankful to Elano’s brilliance.