Looking to keep their unbeaten streak alive at eight games, Cambridge United will face Championship side Birmingham City at the Cledara Abbey Stadium in an FA Cup third-round match on Saturday evening.
The U’s secured a strong win against a fellow League Two promotion contender last time out, while Blues pulled off an exciting victory over the Championship leaders in the recent Second City derby.
Match preview
Last season, Cambridge United finished 73 points behind record-setting Birmingham in League One and were relegated. This season, they’re battling hard for a quick bounce back to the third tier of English football.
The U’s extended their unbeaten run in League Two to double digits on New Year’s Day when former Manchester City youth player Ben Knight scored twice, leading them to defeat promotion rival Walsall at the Abbey Stadium.
The last time they lost at this level was back in late November against Notts County. Under Neil Harris’s guidance, they’ve climbed up to sixth place in League Two, now sitting just two points ahead of Walsall in the final automatic promotion spot.
This weekend, Cambridge will try to take advantage of Birmingham’s struggles away from home. They seem ready for it too-losing only one of their 12 league matches at home so far this season (2025-26).
To reach this third round, Cambridge had to get past two FA Cup hurdles: a comfortable 3-0 win over National League North side Chester in round one and then edging out third-tier Stockport County on penalties back on December 6.
© Imago
Birmingham City were struggling with a seven-match winless streak and fading promotion hopes but pulled off perhaps their best result of the season recently by beating Championship leaders Coventry City at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Sunday afternoon.
Marvin Ducksch, who calls himself a “big player” and is a former Germany international, showed his class with two fantastic goals that helped Blues secure a thrilling 3-2 win against Frank Lampard’s team.
Sitting mid-table (14th) in the Championship, Birmingham have been held back by some patchy signings over summer. However, their first January signing has already made an impact – Kai Wagner assisted just six minutes into his debut last game.
Given how poorly Birmingham have done on the road lately (no wins in their last seven away league games: D1 L6), it’s questionable if Chris Davies’s squad are favorites for this FA Cup tie on Saturday.
Birmingham dropped down from League One just last season but still have recent memories of beating Cambridge – though it’s worth noting that Cambridge pulled off an upset when they met most recently in September 2020 during another cup tie.
Cambridge United FA Cup form:
W W
Cambridge United all competitions form:
D D W D W W
Birmingham City all competitions form:
D L D D L W
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© Imago / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images
After keeping a clean sheet against Walsall, Jake Eastwood looks set to continue as goalkeeper for Cambridge.
The U’s have plenty of options if they want to shuffle things around slightly; George Hoddle and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu are pushing hard for starting spots.
Birmingham are going through some changes mid-season after Eiran Cashin was recalled by Brighton & Hove Albion.
Captain Christoph Klarer might return after serving his three-game suspension but Demarai Gray (calf injury) and Ethan Laird (hamstring) are still out injured.
Lyndon Dykes and Marc Leonard were left out of the squad for the Coventry match and look unlikely to play at Abbey Stadium this weekend as they prepare for possible January moves away from the club.
Possible lineup for Cambridge United:
Eastwood; Jobe, Watts, Rossi; Bennett, Ball, Mc Loughlin, Brophy; Knight, Kaikai, Appere
Possible lineup for Birmingham City:
Allsop; Sampsted, Klarer, Robinson, Wagner; Isichei, Iwata , Willumsson , Fujimoto , Koumas ; Kyogo
 
We Say: Cambridge United 1-2 Birmingham City
Cambridge haven’t lost at home for three months now so they’ll be pretty confident about causing an upset against Birmingham this weekend.
The trip could be tough remembering their League One success last year but Blues do have enough quality players to sneak through into round four.
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