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'Indications are Farke will take FA Cup seriously'

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The Don't Go To Bed Just Yet panel have been previewing Sunday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Birmingham and discussing if and how Daniel Farke will rotate his team after Tuesday's impressive 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

"We're expecting a lot of changes," said Jonny Buchan.

"It's a really interesting one because what do you do in terms of the starting XI? You're only three games away from a semi-final at Wembley, so how seriously do you take this Birmingham City side?"

"The indications all season have been Farke will take this competition seriously," replied Adam Pope.

"They put in a good performance at Derby and deservedly won the game despite going behind.

"I could see [Joel] Piroe playing, he had a really good game at Derby even though he missed the penalty, [Facundo] Buonanotte is eligible and could get a start. He will probably leave [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin out after illness. I'd imagine [Sebastiaan] Bornauw will get a run-out again despite getting a bit of a run-around against Chelsea. Maybe [Willy] Gnonto gets a go too.

"Dan James maybe too, who has looked great since coming back.

"It might be a system change to give these players minutes. It could be a 4-3-3 with Piroe up top, Buonanotte pulling the strings, and [Brendon] Aaronson having a rest."

"This round we have an easier fixture so we can go under full-strength and get through," added Simon Rix.

"Hopefully by the next round the league will be looking good and we can play more of the first team.

"I'd be tempted to play the players who will be useful in the league to give them some minutes. I'd be tempted to start [Lukas] Nmecha and James to give them the minutes and [Ao] Tanaka and [Sean] Longstaff to help them get back to full fitness."

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