FA Cup Replay: Wolves v Birmingham

The west Midlands derby re-match looks like being another tight affair after the sides battled out a turgid 0-0 draw at St Andrews. The bookies are assuming that the Premier League side have now done the hard work, making Wolves 11/10 (Skybet) to win the replay in 90 minutes. But with McCarthy likely to rest his star striker again, I think this one could well be heading to extra-time; the 90-minute draw is 12/5 with WilliamHill.

Both sides enjoyed favourable results at the weekend, though they were very different in their nature. Wolves earned a commendable 1-1 draw at title-chasing Tottenham while Birmingham demolished a 9-man Millwall side 6-0 at the Den. It’s easy to forget that there was nothing between these sides all of last season. The Blues were only agonisingly relegated at the expense of their local rivals when the final day took twist after twist.

Premier League survival has meant Wolves now definitely have the superior squad - Roger Johnson controversially crossed the divide after Birmingham ended up in the Championship. However, that advantage is largely negated by McCarty’s determination to preserve his key assets for another relegation battle. Fletcher is expected to be on the bench again, along with a few others. With that in mind, I expect this one to go the distance.