Key player Vs. Newcastle

Blues head up to Newcastle on Wednesday to take on Rafa Benitez` side in their third round replay of the FA Cup at St James` Park.

The sides drew 1-1 at St Andrews with Blues perhaps feeling a little hard done by not to win the game due to the chances they had.

If we are going to win the game this time around and head into the fourth round to face Oxford United, then I think that David Cotterill will be key to it.

He’s had to settle for a place on the bench in recent weeks but I think that Blues will benefit from the width he provides and his frequency of crossing.

Diego Fabbrini has played wide right in the last couple of games but he struggles to get on the outside of his full back and tends to move in field due to that not being his natural position.

Cotterill, however, will stay out wide and look immediately for anyone inside the box to aim for which could catch Newcastle off guard and cause them a few problems.

With Lukas Jutkiewicz in the middle, Blues have a big aerial target to aim for and most of our chances may come through him from either set pieces or crossing in open play.

When Cotterill`s first thought is to get the ball in the box, the rest of the players must read that and it’s important that we have runners into the box hoping to get on the end of his delivery.

It’s crucial that Cotterill gets his delivery up to scratch against the Magpies as we all know that they have a lot of quality in their side and chances may be few and far between for Blues.

Cotterill may also be wanting to prove a point to Gianfranco Zola that he should be in the starting 11 so an impressive performance from the Welshman could see him win his place back.

It’s a tough ask for Blues to beat Newcastle in their own back yard but, after our recent showing there in December, surely we can only improve on that.