Championship table toppers Leicester City welcome strugglers Birmingham City to the King Power in this FA Cup fourth-round tie. The hosts will be hoping to replicate their dominant league success and make it to the fifth round for the second time in three years.
- Date: 27/01/24
- Kick-off time: 15:00
- Venue: King Power Stadium
Leicester and Birmingham have experienced very contrasting seasons so far in the Championship. But this weekend they meet in the FA Cup fourth round, hoping to put aside their league distractions and progress to the fifth.
The Foxes currently sit top of the Championship, and barring an unlikely and huge collapse, they will be back playing Premier League football again next season. The Blues, on the other hand, are in 20th, looking to avoid relegation to League One, though recent results have allowed them to maintain an eight-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone.
Birmingham recently sacked Wayne Rooney after just 15 games in charge with a torrid run of results leaving just outside the bottom three. The England legend took over in October with the club in a play-off place, but oversaw a disastrous slide down the table. He was replaced by Tony Mowbray and the club have two wins and a draw under his management.
Mowbray’s side needed a replay to advance to the fourth round, as they beat Hull City 2-1 at St Andrews following a 2-2 draw away from home. They fell behind to a Jason Lokilo strike early on, but Jay Stansfield levelled the score before Koji Miyoshi found the net in the 93rd minute to send Birmingham through.
Also facing Championship opposition, Leicester put aside Millwall 3-2 to set up this tie. Goals from Cesare Casadei, Ricardo Pereira and Tom Cannon were enough to see them through.
Both teams fell to the same opponents last season, with Blackburn Rovers knocking them out in consecutive rounds. Birmingham lost in the fourth-round replay, whilst Leicester were defeated 2-1 at home in the fifth. The hosts won the competition in 2021, and will hope to go on another deep run.
Enzo Maresca’s Leicester side boasts the best defence in the Championship, conceding just 21 goals. They have also been very successful at the other end of the pitch, their 55 goals scored also a league best. Birmingham will have their work cut out to stop the plethora of scorers the Foxes possess. They have shared the goals nicely, and are led by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Stephy Mavdidi who have scored nine each. Jamie Vardy has also shown he still has it, finding the back of the net on seven occasions so far despite spending a long spell on the sidelines. Jay Stansfield and Juninho Bacuna are Birmingham’s main goal threats, with nine and seven goals respectively.
Since 2000, Leicester and Birmingham have played against each other 12 times. The Foxes have won six and lost three, dominating the fixture of late, winning four in a row.
The pair met in the Championship earlier this season, with Leicester coming out on top narrow 3-2 winners at St Andrews. Mavididi opened the scoring, before Jordan James got the Blues on level terms. Dewsbury-Hall restored the lead and Mavididi added his second and his side’s third early in the second half. James bagged a brace of his own as he got one back for the hosts with 15 minutes to go.
Their last fixture before this came in the FA Cup in 2020, and Leicester’s 1-0 victory ensured progress into the quarter-finals of the competition. At the time, they were managed by Brendan Rodgers and Pereira scored a late winner.
