Leicester City and Birmingham City will face off in an all Championship affair in the FA Cup
Enzo Maresca and Leicester City will hope to return to winning ways when they take on fellow EFL Championship side Birmingham City in the FA Cup fourth-round tie at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Winless in two games, injuries and unavailability of key players have seen the Foxes surrender some of the healthy points gap they enjoyed at the top of the Championship standings. The FA Cup clash provides them with an opportunity to reorganise and get their season back on track.
They progressed to the current round having beaten Millwall in the previous round 3-2 away from home. Birmingham, on the other hand, defeated Hull City to get to the fourth round but are enjoying an otherwise unremarkable campaign in the second tier.
However, parting ways with Wayne Rooney appears to have reignited the Blues and they are unbeaten in four games since. They defeated Stoke City last weekend to secure their first league win since December 16th and will be upbeat going into the clash against an out-of-sorts Leicester.
What appeared to be a foregone conclusion just a couple of weeks ago might as well turn into an upset. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Leicester City
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Our @EmiratesFACup return, coming up soon. pic.twitter.com/bAiPptayJ5
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 25, 2024
The Foxes defeated Millwall to get this far in the FA Cup but have since picked up just one point in two games in the league. They lost 3-1 to Coventry City before being held to a 1-1 draw by Ipswich Town.
While they still have a healthy lead at the top of the Championship standings, the recent slip-ups have exposed Leicester’s soft underbelly. Maresca will be keen to secure progress and not allow his side’s morale to fall further. Falling to a Premier League side is one thing but a defeat to a fellow Championship side who are struggling against relegation could see Leicester surrender their aura.
But the number of players unavailable certainly will be playing on his mind. The previous round’s hero, Cesare Casadei has since returned to Chelsea while Harry Souttar and Kelechi Iheanacho are off at the Asia Cup and the African Cup of Nations.
Patson Daka is set to return from the AFCON but he is unlikely to make the cut for Saturday night. Abdul Fatawu is suspended while Wilfried Ndidi is out injured. Hamza Choudhary’s participation from the start is in question after he was caught drunk driving. Not disciplining him will certainly send out the wrong message at the King Power Stadium.
Jamie Vardy is back available but is unlikely to be at his best following his spell out. Whether he will struggle due to the lack of match fitness remains to be seen. Leicester are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation that has served them well this season.
Reserve keeper Jakub Stolarczyk should get the nod on the night behind a back four consisting of Ricardo Pereira, Conor Coasdy, Callum Doyle and James Justin. Dennis Praet and Harry Winlks should hold the fort in the middle of the park.
The trio of Marc Albrighton, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Yunus Akgun will provide the attacking thrust with veteran Jamie Vardy leading the line.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk; Pereira, Doyle, Coady, Justin; Praet, Winks; Albrighton, Dewsbury-Hall, Akgun; Vardy
Birmingham City
The Blues have picked up their form since the arrival of Tony Mowbray and are not the side anymore that lacked identity under Wayne Rooney. They will, however, be without Alfie Chang, George Hall and Lukas Jutkiewicz, all of whom are out injured.
Moreover, Andre Dozzell is also unavailable after being cup-tied. It is not all bad news as Marc Roberts and Ethan Liard are both capable of returning to action. The Blues go into the clash as underdogs and given that they have nothing to lose, can take the game to Leicester.
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— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) January 26, 2024
A 4-2-3-1 formation is the likely setup for the night with John Ruddy in goal. The back four should consist of Cody Drameh, Krystian Bielik, Dion Sanderson and Lee Buchanan.
Gary Gardner and Jordan James should hold the fort in central midfield with the trio of KΕji Miyoshi, Juninho Bacuna and Siriki Dembele pushing forward. Jay Stansfield is expected to lead the line up top.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ruddy; Drameh, Bielik, Sanderson, Buchanan; Gardner, James; Miyoshi, Bacuna, Dembele; Stansfield
Key Stats
- Leicester have reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the fifth year running.
- Since the start of the 2017-18 season; only Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have more wins in the FA Cup than Leicester City (16).
- A win for Birmingham City will see them qualify for the fifth round of the FA Cup for just the second time in the last 12 years.
- Both teams last faced each other in the FA Cup in 2019/20 where Leicester won 1-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals.
- Leicester City have won the FA Cup just once in their history. Birmingham City, on the other hand, have never ever won it. They have made the finals twice in their history, with the most recent one being in 1956.
Player to Watch
Harry Winks
The summer signing has been a revolutionary addition to the Foxes midfield this season. He has provided the more attacking-minded players an opportunity to push on without having to worry about retaining the defensive solidity.
With Leicester’s form having gone for a toss, it will be imperative that the Englishman holds down the fort and not allow Birmingham to seize an early advantage. Winks stepping up will see Leicester have an excellent opportunity to secure qualification to the fifth round.
Prediction
Leicester City 2-1 Birmingham City
The Foxes are in a poor run of form while Birmingham have their tails up at the right moment. Leicester will be in for a tougher night than they anticipated a month ago and will need to ensure there are no shocks on the night. Home support and the upper hand in quality should see Maresca and Co squeeze through.
