Team news, where to watch, referee & form

Birmingham City’s clash with Newcastle United could well be one of the FA Cup ties of the weekend, with the League One leaders flying under Chris Davies.

Meanwhile, the Magpies, under Eddie Howe, have suffered successive home league defeats but are still pushing for a top-four finish and recently qualified for the final of the EFL Cup final.

A place in the last 16 awaits for both clubs, a round Birmingham have reached just once in the last 13 years.

Birmingham v Newcastle team news

Birmingham

Paik Seung-ho, Willum Willumsson and Emil Hansson have all been missing in recent weeks through injury, whereas Lee Buchanan has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

Aside from that, Birmingham appear to have come through the EFL Trophy win at Stevenage with no further issues.

Newcastle

Howe had Harvey Barnes, Joelinton and Jamaal Lascelles missing for the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal, and with such a quick turnaround, the trio look set to be absent again.

The Newcastle boss could ring the changes, though, with Nick Pope still awaiting his first appearance back after recovering from an injury. Sven Botman was replaced with an issue late on against Arsenal and looks set to miss the trip to St Andrew’s.

Where to watch Birmingham v Newcastle on TV

The match is scheduled to kick-off at 5:45pm (GMT) on Saturday 8, February and will be broadcast live on BBC One. It can also be streamed in the UK on BBC iPlayer.

In the USA, amid connections between Birmingham and minority Blues owner Tom Brady, the match is also set to be streamed on ESPN+.

Birmingham v Newcastle referee

The man in charge of the fourth-round tie at St Andrew’s will be Matthew Donohue. He will be assisted by Paul Hodskinson and Nigel Lugg and the fourth official is set to be James Bell.

Blues supporters will recognise Donohue, who has taken charge of numerous Birmingham games in the past, however, this will be his first time refereeing a Newcastle first-team fixture.

Birmingham v Newcastle form

Birmingham

The Blues last tasted defeat way back in November against Shrewsbury Town and are currently unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions, sitting four points clear of second-place Wycombe Wanderers with two games in hand.

Davies’ side are on course for an immediate return to the Championship, dropping just six points from a possible 39.

Newcastle

The Magpies had won nine games in succession in all competitions at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, with Alexander Isak firing in front of goal.

However, a 4-1 home defeat to Bournemouth last month ended that run, and they have since lost another Premier League game at St James’ Park to Fulham. Despite this, Newcastle qualified for the EFL Cup final, beating Arsenal 4-0 across two legs.

Birmingham v Newcastle head-to-head

The two sides have met plenty of times in the league throughout their histories, and they have also been drawn against each other three times in the FA Cup.

Interestingly, all three ties required replays in 1906, 2007 and 2017. The last time Birmingham and Newcastle met was in the Championship in the 2016/17 season, drawing 0-0 at St Andrew’s.