Both sides have made some changes for this encounter. First up, it’s five for Pep Guardiola who has a depleted squad to choose from in the wake of their coronovirus outbreak. However, Walker has been cleared to play and both he and Mendy return to the starting XI in place of Stones and Zinchenko who begin on the bench. Rodrigo is preferred ahead of Fernandinho to protect the defence, with Bernardo Silva joining De Bruyne, Mahrez and Foden in a midfield four. Jesus starts as the lone striker.
BIRMINGHAM CITY SUBS: Kristian Pedersen, Aaron Clayton, Marc Roberts, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Neil Etheridge, Riley McGree, Harlee Dean, Josh Dacres-Cogley, Jeremie Bela.
BIRMINGHAM CITY (4-2-3-1): Andres Prieto; Maxime Colin, Jake Clarke-Salter, George Friend, Mikel San Jose; Maikel Kieftenbeld, Ivan Sunjic; Jon Toral, Jonathan Leko, Ivan Sanchez; Scott Hogan.
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Ederson, Fernandinho, Felix Nmecha, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Liam Delap, Luke Mbete, Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1): Zack Steffen; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy; Rodrigo; Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden; Gabriel Jesus.
Birmingham, meanwhile, are languishing down in 18th in the Championship standings after losing five of their last six league outings. And to make matters worse, the Blues haven’t scored a single goal in their last three fixtures. A cup clash will likely be a welcome break for Aitor Karanka and his side, but they face a tough challenge in arguably the country’s in-form team.
After an indifferent start to the 2020-21 campaign, City have hit form and enter this contest looking to make it six wins on the bounce. A 2-0 victory over Manchester United last time out set up an EFL Cup final with Tottenham, and the Citizens have moved up to fifth in the Premier League, four points adrift of leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. They’ve won this trophy six times, which includes a victory in 1956 when they overcame today’s opponents in the final.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the FA Cup third round meeting between Manchester City and Birmingham City from the Etihad Stadium.
