West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini will be preparing his side for their FA Cup clash against Birmingham City.
Mark Lawrenson has warned West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini that he can see Birmingham ‘causing a shock’ if he plays a weakened team in the FA Cup.
The Premier League club will welcome Garry Monk’s side to the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon as the high-flying Championship outfit will look to cause an upset in the third round.
The Hammers go into this fixture having produced a number of mixed results – they have drawn, lost and won their previous three encounters.
In their last match, on Wednesday night, striker Marko Arnautovic netted two late goals to rescue a 2-2 draw against Brighton on home soil.
Former Liverpool defender Lawrenson praised the job Monk has done at St Andrew’s as he backed the Midlands club to cause an upset.
“Some of these ties will be a lot closer than that one, though, and I can see Birmingham causing a shock against West Ham,” Lawrenson told BBC Sport.
“Garry Monk has done an excellent job at Birmingham and if West Ham put out a weakened team then I would back the Blues.”
At this moment in time, Pellegrini’s side are currently sitting in the Premier League’s top 10 as they have no worries about fighting relegation.
Therefore, the West Ham supporters will be craving for a cup run and possibly expecting their manager to play a strong team against the second tier side.
The Irons will come up against a team that is unbeaten in their previous five encounters and sitting two places outside of the playoff places in the Championship.
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