Leicester vs Birmingham Prediction: Can revitalised Blues hurt the Foxes?

Leicester City take on Birmingham City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon (15:00) in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Foxes head into the weekend off the back of a draw with promotion rivals Ipswich Town on Monday night, having seen a lead slip for the second time against the Tractor Boys this season.

As for the Blues, new boss Tony Mowbray recorded his first league win in charge as they defeated Stoke City 2-1 at the bet365 Stadium last Saturday.

The previous meeting between Leicester and Birmingham this season came in December at St Andrew's back when Wayne Rooney was in the dugout. The Foxes were 3-2 winners and fully merited their victory, but Birmingham did cause them some problems and they became the first side to score more than once against them in the Championship this season.

Match Odds

Leicester are the clear favourites for the win here and they are at the short price of 1/3. A draw can be backed at 9/2, while Birmingham are 7/1 to pull off an upset.

Both teams to score is valued at 4/5 and over 2.5 goals is 8/15.

Team News

Kelechi Iheanacho is unavailable for Leicester as he is partaking in the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria. Veteran striker Jamie Vardy returned to action against Ipswich, making an appearance from the bench. He could be in line for a start in the FA Cup.

Birmingham could be boosted by the returns of defenders Marc Roberts and Ethan Laird for the trip to Leicester this weekend, while Alfie Chang is still out of action with a knee injury. Lukas Jutkiewicz and George Hall are still a couple of weeks away from returning to the squad.

Draw or Birmingham (Double chance) @ 2/1

This may feel like a very bold selection given the difference in quality and league positions between the two clubs, but this game would be of more value to the visitors than the hosts. Birmingham are looking to win three games on the bounce for the first time since August and to get it against league leaders Leicester would have a positive effect on their confidence.

For Leicester, Enzo Maresca will likely make several changes to his lineup that started against Ipswich. The Italian will likely prioritise the Championship as he looks to ensure that his side maintain their position at the top of the table. Ipswich are showing they are not going away and the likes of Southampton and Leeds United are catching up as well to keep applying the pressure.

And with his side having a quick turnaround after this game as they host Swansea City in the league on Tuesday, he will likely want to rest his key players so that they are refreshed for that encounter.

This could give Birmingham an excellent opportunity to progress to the fifth round. They will have a week to recover after the Foxes clash and Mowbray will want his players to keep building their confidence, so he will likely name a strong starting XI.

With the way that they have been digging in since Mowbray came in, they can certainly cause problems for the Foxes if they are rotated. We are not confident in backing the Blues to win so we think having the insurance of a draw at 2/1 offers great value. Birmingham would be very happy if they could take this tie to a replay on home soil.

Jay Stansfield to score anytime @ 16/5

Surprisingly, this season has been just as chaotic as recent years for Birmingham City. The summer started with such optimism with the new ownership, that had NFL legend Tom Brady involved with a minority share. They started the season strongly under John Eustace who had them in the play-offs. And then Rooney arrived and the optimism quickly evaporated.

They plummeted down the table and Rooney was let go after 15 games. Mowbray then joined the party hoping to pick up the pieces and lead the club back up the table.

One of the few constants for Birmingham this year is Jay Stansfield, who has scored under all three managers this year. The young striker has scored nine goals in all competitions this term, including a goal against Hull City in the FA Cup third-round replay last week.

He has found the back of the net in his last two outings under Mowbray and he is someone who has rediscovered their confidence since the 60-year-old came in. Stansfield is the Blues' biggest goal threat and he is very likely to feature at the King Power, and we fancy his chances to get on the scoresheet.