Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round
Sunday 10th January 2021
Manchester City v
Birmingham City
Kickoff: 1:30pm (UK)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Live TV: BBCiPlayer (UK)
Referee: Robert Jones
Assistant Referees: Edward Smart, Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson
VAR: Graham Scott
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
FA Cup Rules
A few reminders to this year's updated rules ...
VAR
Some ties will have the use of VAR (as ours does) but some others won't ... I guess it's the grounds that have the facilities installed would have it and those in the lower leagues won't.
Substitutes
While the no. of subs allowed to be named on the bench have increased from seven to nine, and five of them can be used, but at only three times during the game apart from half time.
Concussion Subs
Should any player or players suffer from concussion during the game, than two extra concussion subs are allowed per game. That's in addition to the normal five now allowed irrespective of what time in the game they're used.
Drawn Ties
In case of a draw, the games will go to extra-time (when an extra sub is allowed as well) and then on to penalties, so an eventual winner is to be decided on the same day ... with no replays this year.
Pre-Match Thoughts
So this is the state of our opponent on Sunday ...
Birmingham City currently occupy the 18th spot in the Championship league table ... having played 23 games they are on 23 points ... just four points above safety ... they have the second worst goal difference (-12) in the division (the worst one belonging to the team right at the bottom) ... and the last time they actually won a game was back on 9th December 2020. Since then, they've played six games ... out of which they've lost five and the remaining one was a nil-nil draw on Boxing day.
So even though their last game was back on 2nd January (some eight days gap to this Cup tie) and their next one isn't for another six days, their current position in their league and the recent form would suggest their focus would rather be on their own league and survival than on a cup run.
These are their previous and next games ... and our tight(er) schedule for comparison:
Birmingham City
Sat 2 - 3:00pm - Blackburn Rovers (A) - Championship
Sun 10 - 1:30pm - This Cup Tie (A) - FA Cup R3
Sat 16 - 12:30pm - Middlesbrough (A) - Championship
Manchester City
Wed 6 - 7:45pm - Manchester United (A) - Carabao Cup Semi Final
Sun 10 - 1:30pm - This Cup Tie (H) - FA Cup R3
Wed 13 - 6:00pm - Brighton & Hove Albion (H) - Premier League
We should see a bit of rotation after two intensive games against Chelsea and United in quick succession ... with a sprinkling of youth (more of which would be on the bench than in the starting XI) ... but any team Pep puts out should still be a good enough to see us through to the next round ... especially since we never throw away any competitions deliberately. In the Final of one domestic cup tonight ... time to get started for the second one as well.
Bring it on ... City! City! City!
Sunday 10th January 2021
Manchester City v
Birmingham City
Kickoff: 1:30pm (UK)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Live TV: BBCiPlayer (UK)
Referee: Robert Jones
Assistant Referees: Edward Smart, Scott Ledger
Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson
VAR: Graham Scott
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes
FA Cup Rules
A few reminders to this year's updated rules ...
VAR
Some ties will have the use of VAR (as ours does) but some others won't ... I guess it's the grounds that have the facilities installed would have it and those in the lower leagues won't.
Substitutes
While the no. of subs allowed to be named on the bench have increased from seven to nine, and five of them can be used, but at only three times during the game apart from half time.
Concussion Subs
Should any player or players suffer from concussion during the game, than two extra concussion subs are allowed per game. That's in addition to the normal five now allowed irrespective of what time in the game they're used.
Drawn Ties
In case of a draw, the games will go to extra-time (when an extra sub is allowed as well) and then on to penalties, so an eventual winner is to be decided on the same day ... with no replays this year.
Pre-Match Thoughts
So this is the state of our opponent on Sunday ...
Birmingham City currently occupy the 18th spot in the Championship league table ... having played 23 games they are on 23 points ... just four points above safety ... they have the second worst goal difference (-12) in the division (the worst one belonging to the team right at the bottom) ... and the last time they actually won a game was back on 9th December 2020. Since then, they've played six games ... out of which they've lost five and the remaining one was a nil-nil draw on Boxing day.
So even though their last game was back on 2nd January (some eight days gap to this Cup tie) and their next one isn't for another six days, their current position in their league and the recent form would suggest their focus would rather be on their own league and survival than on a cup run.
These are their previous and next games ... and our tight(er) schedule for comparison:
Birmingham City
Sat 2 - 3:00pm - Blackburn Rovers (A) - Championship
Sun 10 - 1:30pm - This Cup Tie (A) - FA Cup R3
Sat 16 - 12:30pm - Middlesbrough (A) - Championship
Manchester City
Wed 6 - 7:45pm - Manchester United (A) - Carabao Cup Semi Final
Sun 10 - 1:30pm - This Cup Tie (H) - FA Cup R3
Wed 13 - 6:00pm - Brighton & Hove Albion (H) - Premier League
We should see a bit of rotation after two intensive games against Chelsea and United in quick succession ... with a sprinkling of youth (more of which would be on the bench than in the starting XI) ... but any team Pep puts out should still be a good enough to see us through to the next round ... especially since we never throw away any competitions deliberately. In the Final of one domestic cup tonight ... time to get started for the second one as well.
Bring it on ... City! City! City!
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