Premier League high-flyers Leicester City will be among the many top-flight sides pushing for qualification to the FA Cup quarterfinals stage this midweek when they welcome Birmingham City to the King Power Stadium. The Brummies will be making the short trip across the Midlands hoping to take advantage of the poor run of form that Leicester City have been in recently.
The Foxes have been winless in the last four league fixtures, and for five matches across all competitions. Their previous victory came in the fourth round of the FA Cup against Brentford. Despite this though, the Blues will be aware that Brendan Rodgers’ side are still in the Premier League top four, and that underestimating them in a cup fixture could be a huge mistake.
Team News
The gaffer is unlikely to field a full-strength side for this tie, especially with a flurry of extremely winnable games upcoming for the Foxes in the coming weeks. Jamie Vardy is one of the three Leicester players that will be unavailable for selection for this fixture, owing to a calf issue. Long-term absentees Daniel Amartey and Nampalys Mendy both remain on the sidelines as well.
Predicted 4-2-3-1 Leicester City Lineup Vs Birmingham City
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Defence
Welsh shot-stopper Danny Ward was the man between the sticks for the Foxes’ last FA Cup clash against Watford, and the former Liverpool man is expected to keep his place for this fixture. In front of him, expect to see winter acquisition Ryan Bennett and veteran defender Wes Morgan to come into the centre-half positions. Highly-rated youngster James Justin should start in the right-back slot, with former league winner Christian Fuchs expected to operate down the left.
Midfield
Hamza Choudhury has gradually earned himself a place in the Leicester midfield and is now a regular in the side. Despite having played on the weekend, expect the youngster to continue as one of the midfield pivots, with Wilfried Ndidi also set to return to first-team action after a long break. Having last featured for the Foxes prior to the start of February, Ndidi’s return will come as highly positive news to the Leicester City fans.
Attack
In Jamie Vardy’s absence, the goals have been hard to come by for Leicester. Irrespective of this though, expect Brendan Rodgers to start this fixture against lower league opposition with Kelechi Iheanacho leading the line. Demarai Gray and Marc Albrighton could be the duo tasked with providing the Leicester City width. At the same time, Ayoze Perez could start just in behind the former Manchester City striker, offering direct support from the number ten slot.
