Forest Green Rovers vs Birmingham City Match Analysis & Prediction
17/01/2023 10:45 pm
Championship side Birmingham City will be looking to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup when they travel to League One strugglers Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night.
The two sides had initially been due to meet on January 7, but the match was postponed following a pitch inspection at the Bolt New Lawn Stadium, which led to a new date being set.
Forest Green have had to win twice to reach this stage of the competition, defeating South Shields 2-0 on November 5 before claiming a 2-1 victory over Alvechurch at the end of the month.
The Green enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Exeter City in League One on Saturday, which ended a four-game losing streak in League One.
Ian Burchnall’s side, who were League Two champions last season, are currently bottom of the League One table, having only picked up 21 points from their 26 matches during the 2022-23 campaign.
However, Forest Green are just three points behind 20th-placed Morecambe so it is not quite time to hit the panic buttom despite their struggles for results in recent weeks.
The FA Cup could now act as a welcome distraction from their league troubles, and they will be facing a Birmingham side short on confidence due to their recent struggles in the Championship.
Birmingham enter the contest off the back of a four-game losing streak in the second tier, including a 4-2 defeat at Bristol City on Saturday.
Blues are currently 18th in the Championship, six points above the relegation zone, having collected 32 points from their opening 27 matches of the season.
John Eustace’s side have never won the FA Cup, but they have been in two finals in this competition, finishing as runners-up in both 1930-31 and 1955-56.
Birmingham were beaten by West Bromwich Albion in the 1931 final before losing to Manchester City in 1956, but it would be a huge shock if they were able to challenge for the trophy this time around.
Forest Green Rovers vs. Birmingham City Head to head
These two teams have peviously met on just two occasions in friendly matches, with Birmingham winning in both occasions, scoring four goals and keeping clean sheets in the process.
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15/07/2014Forest Green Rovers0Birmingham City1Club Friednlies
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16/07/2016Forest Green Rovers0Birmingham City3Club Friendlies
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17/01/2023N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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17/01/2023N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
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17/01/2023Forest Green RoversN/ABirmingham CityN/AFA Cup
Forest Green Rovers Team News
Forest Green head coach Burchnall will need to assess fitness of his squad following the 1-1 draw with Exeter in the league on Saturday, although they have not reported any fresh injuries.
There will be changes from the side that started at the weekend, with Amadou Bakayoko and Regan Hendry likely to come into the starting XI.
Forest Green Rovers's Last 5 Matches
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17/12/2022Derby County4Forest Green Rovers0League One
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26/12/2022Milton Keynes Dons1Forest Green Rovers0League One
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29/12/2022Forest Green Rovers1Burton Albion2League One
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01/01/2023Forest Green Rovers1Port Vale3League One
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14/01/2023Exeter City1Forest Green Rovers1League One
Birmingham City Team News
Birmingham City will again be without Przemyslaw Placheta and Harlee Dean through injury, while head coach Eustace is expected to make changes to his starting lineup.
On-loan Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri is in line for a start, while George Friend, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Neil Etheridge are expected to be named in the first XI.
Birmingham City's Last 5 Matches
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16/12/2022Birmingham City3Reading2Championship
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27/12/2022Burnley3Birmingham City0Championship
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30/12/2022Birmingham City0Hull City1Championship
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02/01/2023Birmingham City1Middlesbrough3Championship
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14/01/2023Bristol City4Birmingham City2Championship
Forest Green Rovers vs. Birmingham City: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
1X2: 2
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