Leicester City will be looking to maintain their progress in the FA Cup as they welcome Birmingham City to the King Power Stadium for a fourth round clash. Birmingham have shown some improvement lately but are still expected to struggle at the home of the Championship leaders.
Leicester City reached the third round of the FA Cup after claiming a 3-2 victory over Millwall last time out. Goals from Cesare Casadei, Ricardo Pereira and Tom Cannon were enough to earn them the win despite a late blitz from the hosts.
It has been slightly downhill for Leicester City since that FA Cup win as they are winless in their last two matches. Enzo Maresca’s men suffered a 3-1 defeat at Coventry City before playing out a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town in a Monday night Championship fixture.
Despite their recent struggles, the King Power Stadium remains a fortress for Leicester City, who have lost just once in their last 10 home matches. They have picked up eight wins in that run but are without a clean sheet in three of their last four home matches.
Birmingham City needed a replay before seeing off Hull City in the previous round. Having battled to a 1-1 draw in the first meeting, they fought back from a goal down to win the replay at St Andrew’s Stadium thanks to goals from Jay Stansfield and Koji Miyoshi.
That result is part of Birmingham City's improvement under manager Tony Mowbray. They have now won their last two matches and head into Saturday’s clash off the back of a 2-1 Championship victory at Stoke City.
The win over Stoke City highlights a decent away record for Birmingham City, who have lost just once in their last five matches. However, prior to that run, the Blues had suffered eight straight away defeats before to the appointment of Mowbray.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Leicester City as overwhelming favourites with a win priced at 1/3 with bet365. A victory for Birmingham City is valued at 8/1 by Betfred while a draw is set at odds of 5/1 by bet365.
Head to head
Leicester City have a 32-28 advantage with 15 draws from 75 previous matches against Birmingham City. The Foxes have also won the last five meetings and claimed a 3-2 victory in a Championship fixture back in December.
Players to watch
Stephy Mavididi continues to impress for Leicester City and has six goals in his last 10 matches across all competitions. The forward netted a brace in the win over Birmingham City last December and is priced at 7/5 by bet365 to get in the score sheet.
Jay Stansfield has caught the eye in Birmingham City’s recent resurgence, scoring in his last two matches. The forward will be the one to watch Friday and is priced at 5/1 by bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
The last meeting between Leicester City and Birmingham produced over 3.5 goals and a repeat is priced at 7/5 with BetVictor. Both teams could also be backed to score at 10/11 with bet365.
Leicester City are expected to come out on top but given their recent defensive showings, a win and both teams to score could be considered at 19/10 with William Hill. The Foxes could also be backed to score in both halves at evens with Coral.
This FA Cup match between Leicester City and Birmingham City will be played on Jan 27, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Leicester City vs Birmingham City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
