* After stunning Arsenal with a 2-1 victory in the League Cup final last month, Birmingham City have shown that they are a match for any team in cup competitions - winning six of their last seven FA Cup matches.
* The cup draws have been kind to Birmingham this season, with Alex McLeish's side being drawn at St Andrew's for every round of their successful League Cup campaign as well as for two of their three FA Cup ties.
* Blues stopper Ben Foster, man of the match in the League Cup final, has made 124 saves in the Premier League this season – more than any other ‘keeper.
* Birmingham have the edge over Saturday’s opponents in FA Cup history, winning two of the three meetings between the sides – with the last being a 2-1 victory way back in 1955.
* Despite their impressive cup form, Birmingham fans will be wary of a Bolton side who have won three and drawn one of their last four matches against the Midlands outfit.
* High fliers Bolton Wanderers, enjoying a successful season under Owen Coyle, have also been in impressive form in the cup this season - keeping a clean sheet in all three of their FA Cup ties.
* And Owen Coyle's men will travel to St Andrew's in confident mood, having won four and lost none of their last five matches in all competitions.
* Super-sub striker Ivan Klasnic could get his chance from the start as loanee Daniel Sturridge is cup-tied after featuring for Chelsea in an earlier round. Klasnic has scored the winning goal in each of Bolton’s last three wins, two of them away from home in FA Cup matches.
* While they excel at keeping goals out of their net, the Trotters have struggled to find the back of the net in the cup, scoring just five goals in their last six FA Cup ties.
* And their opponents will gain confidence from the fact that Bolton haven’t scored more than one goal in an FA Cup game against a top flight side since netting three times against Arsenal back in 1994.
LAST MEETING
August 29, 2010: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Birmingham City
Goals from Kevin Davies and a late Robbie Blake free-kick inspired 10-man Bolton to a point after the home side had fallen 2-0 behind and had goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen sent off for slapping Roger Johnson just before half-time.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Birmingham City: Foster; Carr, Johnson, Jiranek, Murphy; Larsson, Bowyer, Mutch, Beausejour; Zigic, Martins.
Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Wheater, Cahill, Robinson; Elmander, Muamba, Holden, Petrov; Klasnic, K Davies.
Prediction
Despite suffering from an ever-growing injury list caused by fighting on all three domestic fronts this season, Birmingham's exceptional cup performances have taught us to never write them off. Alex McLeish's men are hovering just above the relegation zone and face a tough battle for survival but will once again be free of the Premier League worries when they look to reach Wembley for the second time this campaign.
On paper high-fliers Bolton, who sit in seventh place in the league table, should be too strong for Bolton but the absence of Chelsea loanee Daniel Sturridge will be a big blow to Owen Coyle. Cup-tied Sturridge has been in marvellous goalscoring form since signing in January and the Trotters will miss his added spark of genius in the final third.
The importance of reaching an FA Cup semi-final will not be lost on both managers so I don't necessarily expect either side to open themselves up particularly early. Birmingham have tended to start slower than their opposition on many occasions this season so I expect Bolton to take the lead before the home side wake up and battle their way back into the game.
On paper high-fliers Bolton, who sit in seventh place in the league table, should be too strong for Bolton but the absence of Chelsea loanee Daniel Sturridge will be a big blow to Owen Coyle. Cup-tied Sturridge has been in marvellous goalscoring form since signing in January and the Trotters will miss his added spark of genius in the final third.
The importance of reaching an FA Cup semi-final will not be lost on both managers so I don't necessarily expect either side to open themselves up particularly early. Birmingham have tended to start slower than their opposition on many occasions this season so I expect Bolton to take the lead before the home side wake up and battle their way back into the game.
Birmingham 2-1 Bolton 
