Birmingham City League One fixture to be postponed as EFL rule explained

Birmingham City will be forced to rearrange one of their League One fixtures after progressing to the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Blues beat Blackpool 2-1 at Bloomfield Road on Sunday with Lyndon Dykes and Lukas Jutkiewicz on target. As a result of their progression, their match against Leyton Orient which is scheduled for Saturday, January 11 at 3.00 pm will be postponed.

The FA Cup takes centre stage in the third week of January, and as a result several matches across the division will have to be re-arranged. Leyton Orient also progressed, beating Oldham Athletic in extra time, and so both sides will be in action that weekend.

Both Birmingham and Orient must now find a suitable date to play the fixture. According to the EFL rulebook, section 6.10 says: “All re-arrangements of Matches must be arranged for the earliest reasonable opportunity and submitted to and approved by the League. Any Match not so arranged shall have its date fixed by the League.”

As a result of the FA’s changes to the 2024/25 competition, there will be no replay for Birmingham or Orient with their ties. Games in the first and second rounds have been decided by extra time and penalties. Birmingham are still involved in the EFL Trophy and face Exeter City on Tuesday, December 10, and should they progress then they will play in January.

Several Birmingham City matches have been postponed this season, but that was due to international call-ups. They were due to play Exeter City at the start of the September, but only played them at the end of November, beating them 2-0.

Matches against Cambridge United and Stevenage have also had to be postponed. The new date for Birmingham's trip to the Abbey Stadium is Tuesday 11 February at 7.45 pm. Birmingham against Stevenage which was due to be played on November 16 has yet to scheduled. Birmingham are currently playing catch-up with their league rivals with Chris Davies’ men holding at least a game in hand over the top two.