Battling for the honour of facing Championship leaders Leicester City in the fourth round, Birmingham City will welcome Hull City to St Andrew's for an FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday night.
Blues needed a last-gasp strike to force a share of the spoils against Swansea City last time out, while the Tigers' poor form continued as they lost at home to Norwich City.
Match preview
© Reuters
Tony Mowbray's reign as Birmingham City manager commenced with an entertaining draw against Luke Williams's Swansea on Saturday in the Championship, although goals from Harry Darling and Jamal Lowe - either side of a Siriki Dembele stunner - had the visitors heading into the final stages in front.
Up stepped Welsh sensation Jordan James, who arrived off the bench in the second period and rifled one of his trademark low finishes for Blues past the outstretched Carl Rushworth in the 95th minute - a contribution which would have captured the attention of the youngster's new boss and potential suitors Atalanta BC.
Thanks to in-form Southampton battering 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 on the South Coast on the weekend, a point for Birmingham against Swansea allowed the Second City club to move seven points clear of the bottom three, having collected 29 points from their opening 27 second-tier contests.
Mowbray has claimed that everyone within his first-team squad has a clean slate following the sacking of Wayne Rooney earlier this month, and the 60-year-old's team selection matched his words on the weekend, with striker Scott Hogan starting his first match in three months after being frozen out by the Manchester United legend.
Blues were under the temporary stewardship of Under-21s coach Steve Spooner when they travelled to the MKM Stadium on January 6 to face Hull City, with Lukas Jutkiewicz netting a trademark header which was ultimately enough to earn his side a replay against the Tigers on Tuesday.
© Reuters
The debut of high-profile arrival Fabio Carvalho was unable to prevent Hull City from suffering their fourth loss in five Championship matches on Friday night, when a well-drilled Norwich side escaped Humberside with three points, helped by some questionable refereeing.
David Wagner's Canaries scored either side of the half-time interval through the dazzling feet of Jon Rowe and the thigh of substitute Christian Fassnacht, meaning Tyler Morton's thunderbolt in the final stages was a mere consolation for a side who are beginning to lose grip of their top-six ambitions.
An unhealthy return of three points from the last five Championship games has seen Liam Rosenior's men to slip to ninth in the second-tier standings, although they are only a point behind sixth-placed Coventry City, who have enjoyed a remarkable rise up the table in recent weeks.
The signings of Liverpool loanee Carvalho and Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp have captured the imagination of Tigers supporters since the beginning of January, and with Burnley's Manuel Benson reportedly close to joining the club, Hull are set to make a real fist of their top-six assault.
Hull's downturn in form has coincided with the absence of six-goal winger Jaden Philogene, who is currently working his way back from a knee injury sustained in December - his performances this season have left many wondering why Aston Villa allowed the 21-year-old to depart in the summer.
Team News
© Reuters
Following the draw with Swansea on Saturday, Birmingham boss Mowbray revealed that he will use Tuesday's cup clash to take a look at winger Keshi Anderson from the start, with the 28-year-old failing to feature on the weekend.
The 60-year-old has told Hogan that he will probably not start two games in the space of four days, meaning cult hero Jutkiewicz is set to take the Irishman's spot in attack.
Goalscorer James, Juninho Bacuna and Tyler Roberts are all expected to be included in the XI after cameos against the Swans, while Neil Etheridge may replace John Ruddy in goal.
Hull are prepared to be without the services of striker Aaron Connolly at St Andrew's, with the striker being forced off in the early stages on Friday due to a collision with Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Rosenior's options in attack are further limited by the absence of Liam Delap, who could be sidelined for the remainder of the season with his knee issue.
The Tigers are set to make a number of changes to their XI, with Sharp, Jason Eyenga-Lokilo and youngster Harry Vaughan are in line for starts.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Drameh, Sanderson, Aiwu, Longelo; James, Sunjic, Burke, Roberts, Anderson; Jutkiewicz
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Coyle, McLoughlin, Greaves, Jacob; Docherty, Slater; Vaughan, Eyenga-Lokilo, Twine; Sharp
We say: Birmingham City 1-2 Hull City
Birmingham were up for the fight during Mowbray's first match but looked defensively weak at points, something Hull's Carvalho could take advantage of.
The Tigers are dominating football matches but are not finding the results in recent games, but they should be good enough for the win here unless they rotate their side heavily.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
