Birmingham City

Image source, Getty Images

The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

QPR and Birmingham City will both look to gain ground on the Championship play-off places when they meet at Loftus Road on Tuesday night (20:00 GMT).

The Hoops have won three of their past four games (L1) to move up from 16th to 10th and within two points of the top six.

Blues are tied on 28 points with QPR and sit in eighth but will be looking to improve on their away record with just two wins on the road so far this season (D2 L6).

• QPR have lost just two of their past 11 home league games against Birmingham (W6 D3), going down 4-3 in February 2019 and 1-0 in March 2023.

• Birmingham have won two of their past four league games against QPR (D1 L1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (D4 L7). They were winless against the Hoops the last time they faced in 2023-24, however.

• QPR have won five of their past six league games against promoted sides (L1), winning each of the previous three by a 3-1 scoreline. They last won more consecutively against promoted clubs between February and October 2008 (5).

• QPR have lost just one of their past five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games (W3 D1), though it was in their most recent such home game against Southampton last month.

• Birmingham have lost just one of their past 20 midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (W15 D4), going down 3-1 at Bolton in March.

Image source, Rex Features

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies said that his side had "to defend better" against Southampton as they fell to defeat on Saturday afternoon.

Blues managed to get back into the game after going two down when Demarai Gray curled a sweet strike into the net, but were unable to avoid the loss as Adam Armstrong scored a second goal to put the game to bed.

"I think it was always going to be a challenge but the first 20 minutes," Davies told the media after the game.

"We weren't strong enough or physically quick enough onto the ball and we paid the price for it because we gave ourselves a mountain to climb at 2-0 down against a team with a lot of good players away from home.

"The first 20 minutes was not what we've been talking about or what we wanted to deliver in terms of our, you know, solidity and strength in that period away from home.

"But obviously they had a couple of moments which we just have to defend better today."

Birmingham City are next in action on Tuesday when they travel away to QPR in a 20:00 GMT kick-off.

The R's head into that game off the back of a 3-1 victory over West Brom on Saturday and have three wins in their last five matches.

Can Southampton pick up their winning ways when they welcome Birmingham City to St Mary's on Saturday (15:00 GMT)?

The Saints saw their high-scoring four match winning streak come to an end with a dramatic 3-2 loss to Millwall, leaving them five points adrift of the top six.

While for the Blues, the play-off spots are in sight. Just one point separates them and sixth placed Bristol City but winning away from home has proven tricky.

The West Midlands side have only picked up eight of their 28 points on the road (W2 D2) and will need to sort out their away form if they want to continue the challenge for promotion.

• There have been 19 goals scored in the last four league meetings between Southampton and Birmingham at St Mary's Stadium, with Saints scoring 12 and conceding seven (W3 L1).

• Birmingham have won just one of their last nine away league games against Southampton (D2 L6), beating them 2-1 in the Championship in August 2008.

• Southampton have scored 15 goals in their last five league games, one more than they had in their previous 17 combined. Saints are looking to score 2+ goals in six consecutive league games for the first time since between April and August 2011.

• Just 29% of Birmingham's league points this season have been won in away games (8/28). Only Watford (25%) have won a lower share on the road than the Blues.

• Southampton have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Championship this season (15), losing 3-2 against Millwall despite scoring first last time out.

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City "might never be the same team away from home" but are showing signs their form on the road is improving says manager Chris Davies.

Blues go to Southampton on Saturday (15:00 GMT) having picking up just eight points from a possible 27 away games.

Only Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth - the latter two being in the bottom three - have picked up fewer points on their travels.

Blues' away record is in stark contrast to their superb efforts at St Andrew's with only runaway leaders Coventry City able to better their six wins and 21 goals.

Davies said the last two away performances - a 2-1 defeat by Middlesbrough and a 1-1 derby draw with West Bromwich Albion - have been encouraging.

"There were good signs against a good team [Boro] that we were more than competitive," he told BBC Radio WM.

"Against West Brom, we get something out of the game and showed a bit of resilience

"If you combine those two together, you've got a decent formula for getting something from an away game.

"We have to try to be ourselves. If we change and sit on the edge of our box for 90 minutes we've got less chance of winning the match, there's no doubt about that.

"We might never be the same team away from home but we obviously need to improve our results."

Davies said he does not think the difference in results at home and away is down to any psychological issues, adding "the messaging around the games remains the same".

"Possibly earlier in the season there was maybe a bit of trepidation around some of these games - 'are we good enough?' but I think our confidence has grown," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised his side's character after they held off a Watford fightback in the 2-1 win at St Andrew's.

First-half goals from Paik Seung-ho and Demarai Gray put Blues in control but Othmane Maamma made it a nervy finish.

Speaking to BBC Radio WM, Davies praised his side for getting over the line.

"It's a really big win," he said. "Watford are a really strong team with really strong, fast, good-level players.

"In the first half, we were by far the better team and got two good goals. If we could have got that third, it looks different. They scored, so we had to dig in and show character.

"Maamma is really quick, dangerous and clever and makes good runs without the ball. Bright Osayi-Samuel has hardly played at all for six weeks, so he's come in and done the job for the team."

Birmingham are now just one point and place off the play-offs, but Davies isn't getting ahead of himself.

"I'd have absolutely taken seventh, no doubt about it. To go and beat Watford is not something I take for granted for a second."

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies believes his side can be "real contenders" in the Championship this season despite a difficult start.

Birmingham scored just seven league goals across August and September, the same amount they have accumulated in their past three league matches alone.

Blues seem particularly potent at home, scoring four goals in each of their past three matches at St Andrew's.

"If you look at the underlying numbers, we've improved at almost everything in the last six, seven, eight games," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"Now I have a lot more belief, looking at us, that we can be a real contender.

"I think early season, we were finding our feet. Some players were finding their feet, their own confidence in their levels, some of them had never played in the Championship. But I look at some of those same players now, I see a belief in them."

Defender Phil Neumann has "recovered okay" from a hefty challenge picked up against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday and should be available for the game against Watford on Monday (20:00 GMT).

But midfielder Willum Willumsson, who has not featured since August, has suffered a set-back during training to delay a return.

"He's [Willumsson] had another knock in training that has delayed his progress because he was very close to returning, but then he's picked up something else," Davies added.

"It's a bit of a day-by-day but hopefully it's a matter of weeks not months until he's back in the squad."

Listen to the full interview with Davies and more Birmingham City content on BBC Sounds.

Watford will look to extend their undefeated run to a sixth league game as they make the trip to Birmingham City on Monday (20:00 GMT).

The Hornets have only lost two games since boss Javi Gracia took charge in October (W3 D3), placing them three points short of the top six.

Blues, however, are also chasing a spot in the top six and have won five of their eight home games so far this season (D2 L1).

• Birmingham City have lost 10 of their previous 12 league games against Watford (W1 D1), and failed to win any of the last seven (D1 L6).

• Watford have scored on each of their last six league visits to Birmingham City (W4 D1 L1), winning there most recently in March 2024 (1-0).

• Only Coventry City (20) and Watford (18) have won more points at home in the Championship this season than Birmingham (17), winning each of their last three in a row.

• Watford are unbeaten in their last five league games (W2 D3); they last avoided defeat in six successive matches between November/December 2024.

• Only Imran Louza (10) has been involved in more goals for Watford in the Championship this season than Jeremy Ngakia (5 – 2 goals, 3 assists), with his three assists coming in his last five appearances

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City midfielder Tommy Doyle says taking a point from Wednesday's West Midlands derby at West Bromwich Albion was a good one given their first-half performance.

Despite largely dominating the first 45 minutes at The Hawthorns, Albion only had Alex Mowatt's 12th-minute goal to show for it and a much-improved Blues managed to secure a point after Marvin Ducksch headed in Doyle's free-kick with 12 minutes left.

"We definitely weren't up to it first half but were miles the better team in the second," Doyle told BBC Radio WM.

"A point at the end of the day is probably good but we could've had a bit more."

Blues came into the match in fine goalscoring form having won their last three home games 4-0 and, although unable to find that same threat against the Baggies, Doyle said they showed another side of their game.

"You can't be free flowing every single week. We want to be and that's the aim we strive for," he said.

"It was all about just plugging away. We fought hard and we were going to create chances and thankfully we got one.

"There's a lot of different ways to score and set-pieces are becoming a big thing so the better you are at them, the more goals you're going to score."

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies is pleased with his side's reaction to coming back from a goal down to draw at West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night.

"It's a point gained from our point of view," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"We weren't at our best in the first half, couldn't find our rhythm and were a little bit slow with everything.

"We knew it would be tough because it was a local derby and we conceded a sloppy goal from a set-piece, which put us on the back foot and gave us a mountain to climb.

"I said to the players at half-time that we would get better and find our rhythm. We had to do things quicker. We did find our rhythm in the second half and I thought it was us in the ascendancy. I was pleased we got our set-piece goal.

"I had a feeling we would grow into the game. Being a goal down, away from home in a local derby, maybe not being at your best, to come away with a point you have to say is a good point."

West Brom's only two wins from their past eight league games have both come at home and they are looking to avoid losing back-to-back Championship matches for the third time this season.

Birmingham make the short trip to The Hawthorns on Wednesday (20:00 GMT) with five away defeats already this season having only lost three times on the road in their League One title-winning campaign last year.

• West Brom won 1-0 in their last league meeting with Birmingham in February 2024, ending a four-game losing run against the Blues.

• Birmingham have won just one of their past seven away league games against West Brom (D2 L4), beating them 3-2 in September 2022.

• West Brom have won just one of their past seven midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league matches (D1 L5), winning 1-0 at Norwich in October.

• After winning seven consecutive away league games between April and August, Birmingham have won just one of their last seven on the road (D1 L5).

• Birmingham have lost just one of their past 19 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league matches (W15 D3), going down 3-1 at Bolton in March.

Samantha Fletcher
BBC Final Score

Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham are a force to be reckoned with at home, they have only lost once at St Andrew's in the league since April and scored four goals in each of their last three home games.

For the first hour against Norwich City they looked almost like children playing in the park, of course not in relation to skill or speed but in the way they play for fun, hungry for goals.

The string of confident that results on home soil brings appears to breed freedom and confidence to play within a well-drilled team.

The other ingredient for success against Norwich was dog-eared determination, they keep the play alive when many teams would relent.

Demarai Gray stands out as a playmaker, who puts ball after ball into the right place in the box.

Only Hull have beat the Blues at home so far in the Championship. The question is can anyone else stop their ongoing house party?

Image source, PA Media

Chris Davies says his side's 4-1 victory over Norwich City was a "really important win" for his side.

Blues' third win in four games propelled them into the Championship's top 10, just a point off the play-off places.

"It was an important game today," Birmingham boss Davies told BBC WM.

"After the international break this is a disjointed few weeks because players are away and you have to get back together a couple of days before the game and see what kind of intensity you can bring to the next match.

"I thought that was the key to it, I thought we had a real intensity about us, we started really aggressively, we created a chance in the first minute which just sets the tone for the match.

"We were deservedly up in the game at half-time with a cushion and I liked the way we played the second half, so for us it was a really important win."

Boss Chris Davies has admitted "it's hard to prepare" for Birmingham City's Championship fixture with Norwich under their new manager Philippe Clement.

Clement was appointed by the Canaries on Tuesday to replace the sacked Liam Manning.

"He's obviously a very good manager, did a really good job initially at Rangers, winning a trophy," Davies told BBC Radio WM.

"[It's a] challenging landscape in Glasgow as everyone knows when Celtic are the stronger team but, yes, good manager."

Davies added: "He's joined a good team. They're not a team that in my eyes are going to go and get relegated from this division from what I've seen.

"They've got some very good players and it's going to be a very big challenge for us as I've said to the players today.

"I've obviously got a good gauge from his Rangers teams, what he's done at Monaco and other clubs as well, so I've got a feeling I know what kind of football we're going to face and it's going to be a challenge for us."

You can listen to more from Chris Davies on BBC Sounds