Looking to continue their fight on three fronts as 2025 progresses, Birmingham City will welcome fellow third-tier outfit Lincoln City to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park for a third-round tie in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Blues have enjoyed a productive festive period as they battle for promotion to the Championship, whilst the Imps have struggled to find the net and positive results over recent weeks.
Match preview
Since a shock 3-2 defeat at the home of relegation-threatened Shrewsbury Town on November 23, Birmingham City have strung together an 11-game unbeaten run across League One, the EFL Trophy and the FA Cup, meaning that there has been plenty of festive cheering flying around the blue side of the Second City.
Back-to-back draws with Blackpool and Stockport County to welcome in the New Year dampened spirits slightly around Blues, but they responded in some style in Lancashire last Saturday, recording their biggest victory of the term and a deserved three-goal smashing of Wigan Athletic.
Bagging a first-half brace at the Brick Community Stadium, Alfie May is now up to 10 third-tier goals for the campaign, with the former Cheltenham Town and Charlton Athletic man hoping to beat £20m signing and fellow striker Jay Stansfield to the division's Golden Boot this term.
Chris Davies's men should be very confident of progressing into the fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend considering their excellent record at St Andrew's this term, with the Second City club only losing to Premier League Fulham across 12 home matches in League One and the EFL Cup.
Beating Sutton United and Blackpool in the first and second round respectively to book their spot in the prestigious third round, Birmingham are one step away from matching their efforts from last season, when Tony Mowbray's men lost to Premier League-bound Leicester City at the fourth stage.
On the contrary to Saturday's hosts, Lincoln have endured somewhat of an attacking nightmare during the final stages of the festive period, with the third-tier contenders enduring a four-game winless run, in which time they failed to breach the net of their opponents.
That being said, it was an improved display from the Imps last time out against Stevenage at LNER Stadium, where both George Wickens and Murphy Mahoney kept a clean sheet, whilst a strike from centre-back Lewis Montsma was ruled out following a contentious call, preventing the hosts from collecting maximum points.
Earning just a single point from their last four matches in the third tier ahead of this weekend's FA Cup-based hiatus, Lincoln have dropped further behind the playoff picture in the League One standings, with Richie Wellens's troops currently sitting in 12th, nine points behind Reading in sixth.
After missing out on a top-six finish by just two points last season, the Imps are relying on a core of young talent to fire them towards promotion this time around, as shown by the summit of their goalscoring charts, with 19-year-old Bailey Cadamarteri leading the pack with five strikes.
A trip to Chesham United of the National League South was on the cards during the first round of this season's FA Cup, before Lincoln booked a place in the third round with victory at the end of a seven-goal thriller at Crawley Town in December, when centre-back Paudie O'Connor was among the goalscorers.
Team News
Birmingham are expecting to be without the services of both Stansfield and club captain Krystian Bielik for the visit of Lincoln this weekend.
Whilst the club's record signing and the former Poland international sit out, right-back Alfons Sampsted could make his return from injury woes sustained whilst on duty for Iceland in the UEFA Nations League.
Blues remain short on options in wide positions due to the absences of Emil Hansson and Keshi Anderson, meaning that Ayumu Yokoyama should feature this weekend.
After keeping a solid clean sheet last time out, Lincoln could stick with a centre-back pairing of O'Connor and Montsma for the trip to the Second City.
Failing to find the net once again against Stevenage last weekend, Wellens could opt to rotate his attack, with Jack Moylan and Freddie Draper pushing for starts.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; Laird, Sanderson, Davies, Cochrane; Leonard, Gardner-Hickman, Wright, Gardner-Hickman, Yokoyama; Dykes
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Wickens; Darikwa, Montsma, O'Connor, Roughan; Moylan, McGrandles, Erhahon, Draper; Makama, Cadamarteri
We say: Birmingham City 2-0 Lincoln City
Likely to rotate following a hectic festive schedule, a disjointed Birmingham side might struggle to find their rhythm in the FA Cup this weekend.
However, Blues should have enough quality on the pitch and in reserve for success, especially considering Lincoln's recent struggles in front of goal.
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