Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe makes 'brilliant' Birmingham City admission before St Andrew's showdown

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has been seriously impressed by Birmingham’s progress and insists his team must not underestimate their capability in the FA Cup fourth round.

Blues and the Magpies commence battle at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Saturday evening, kicking off at 5.45pm for a place in the fifth round of the world’s oldest cup competition. Although there are two divisions between the two teams, the visiting head coach thinks it’ll be a very challenging fixture.

Howe has every reason to think that as Birmingham are unbeaten on home soil across all competitions so far this season and are the clear favourites to win the League One title. Currently four points clear at the summit of the English third-tier standings with two games in hand on nearest challengers Wycombe Wanderers, Birmingham are expected to return to the Championship sooner rather than later.

There are also several players arguably of Premier League quality - or at least close to - including £13 million record signing Jay Stansfield. The FA Cup is renowned for upsets and if Blues are still in the game with 20 minutes or so to go, nobody should write them off. Newcastle’s head coach absolutely agrees.

"We respect them, Chris Davies has done a brilliant job,” Howe told the media pre-match. “Every time you go to Birmingham, you realise the size of the club. It is a huge football club with a brilliant supporter base. It is a really good ground to play at. We see this as a big challenge, and we need to rise to the challenge. They are a very aggressive, a high pressing team, we cannot underestimate them in any way."

How will Birmingham City approach their clash with Newcastle?

On to the Blues perspective, and this weekend’s hosts are very unlikely to progress to the latter stages of the tournament this time around. Davies is instead focusing on League One and the EFL Trophy, two competitions Birmingham are the strong favourites to win.

What that doesn’t mean, however, is that Davies will throw this game in Newcastle’s favour by naming a weak lineup. There could be rotation, yes, but Blues are likelier to go full strength in what is seen as an exciting test against world-class opposition.

This is the first time Birmingham have faced Newcastle in any competition since March 2017, when a 0-0 draw played out at St Andrew’s in the Championship. Blues are without a win in their last eight meetings with the Magpies but their last victory was in the FA Cup – a stunning 5-1 thumping at St. James’ Park in January 2007.

The two teams have played one another in the FA Cup since but it didn’t quite go as well for Blues on that occasion. Birmingham forced a replay in January 2017 with a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s but Newcastle proved too fierce in the reverse tie, winning 3-1 at St. James’ 11 days later.

In other news, Blues chairman Tom Wagner is considering a major development between New Street and the site of a proposed new stadium.