Preview: Birmingham City vs. Leicester City: lineups, team news, …………………..

Leicester City, who have reached a standstill in their pursuit of the Championship crown, will now turn their attention back to the FA Cup. On Saturday, they will welcome Birmingham City to the King Power Stadium for their fourth-round match.

To advance thus far, the Foxes defeated Millwall five goals to one, while Tony Mowbray’s team needed a replay and late drama to defeat Hull City in the third round.

Italian sensation Cesare Casadei stole the show in the first half of Leicester’s FA Cup third-round match against Millwall at The Den, heading in from a Marc Albrighton ball and setting up Ricardo Pereira for a well-deserved second goal before being called back to parent club Chelsea.

The gap was reduced to one goal once more when Zian Flemming converted a skillfully executed corner routine, but only after Duncan Watmore had given Millwall a lifeline. Tom Cannon then added a third goal for Leicester, seizing a fantastic long pass from Callum Doyle.

Despite Flemming’s late goal in the 86th minute, Leicester advanced to the FA Cup round four for the fifth consecutive year and won 16 games in the competition since the beginning of the 2017–18 campaign. Only Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea have won more games in that span of time.

Though there is still a long way to go before the Championship title is decided, Enzo Maresca’s team leads the Tractor Boys by an overwhelming seven points after 28 games, and Tuesday’s draw extended their winning streak at King Power Stadium to a respectable six games.

After Millwall had been offered a chance by Duncan Watmore, Zian Flemming’s well-executed corner routine narrowed the lead to just one goal once more. After thereafter, Tom Cannon scored Leicester’s third goal by grabbing a wonderful long pass from Callum Doyle.

Leicester made it to the FA Cup round four for the fifth time in a row, winning 16 games in the competition since the start of the 2017–18 season, despite a late goal by Flemming in the 86th minute. In that period, only Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City have won more games.

Leicester lost 1-0 to Coventry City and then blew a 1-0 lead in a two-goal draw with promotion rivals Ipswich Town, and since then, the team has only managed one point from its last two Championship games. However, their crushing of Millwall was far from assured.

With 28 games played, Enzo Maresca’s club leads the Tractor Boys by a commanding seven points, and Tuesday’s tie brought their winning run at King Power Stadium to a solid six games. However, there is still a long way to go until the Championship title is decided.

In addition to the recalled Casadei, Harry Souttar of Australia and Kelechi Iheanacho of Nigeria are still out of the Leicester team. These players will shortly be competing in the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations knoc

kout stages, respectively.

Though it is still doubtful, Patson Daka’s Zambia have been eliminated from the latter competition. As a result, the striker will soon return to King Power Stadium. Wilfred Ndidi (leg) and Abdul Fatawu (suspended) will also miss the match.

Maresca was not beyond switching things up to win against Millwall, and he ought to do it again. The most likely place for Hamza Choudhury to start is on the bench following the midfielder’s drunk driving arrest.

Birmingham signed Queens Park Rangers midfielder Andre Dozzell on a short-term loan deal after overcoming Hull in their third-round replay; however, the 24-year-old is cup-tied and will not be able to participate on Saturday.

Though Alfie Chang (knee), George Hall (hamstring), and Lukas Jutkiewicz (calf) are still in the treatment room, there is hope that Marc Roberts (calf) and Ethan Laird (groin) will be able to play in the trip to Leicester.

John Ruddy, 37, was back in goal for the rematch after giving up the starting position to Neil Etheridge for the first game against Hull. Gary Gardner should also be called up to the midfield at the King Power.

Potential starting lineup for Leicester City: Vardy; Praet, Winks; Albrighton, Dewsbury-Hall, Akgun; Pereira, Doyle, Coady, Justin; Stolichuk

Potential starting lineup for Birmingham City: Gardner, James; Miyoshi, Bacuna, Dembele; Stansfield; Drameh, Bielik, Sanderson, Buchanan