Chris Davies will send his Birmingham City side out against Leeds United in the FA Cup fourth round.
Young coach Davies steered Birmingham to last season’s League One title and his Blues now sit just one point off the Championship play-off positions in tenth place.
In a break from the club’s push for promotion, Davies, 40, will now pit his wits against Leeds for the first time as a manager in Sunday’s 12 noon kick-off at St Andrew’s for a place in the FA Cup’s last 16.
As a League One side, Birmingham faced a home clash against Premier League opposition in last season’s FA Cup fourth round with the visit of Newcastle United who eventually progressed with a 3-2 success at St Andrew’s.
One year on, Davies says similarities can be drawn with Sunday’s visit of Leeds, the Blues boss firing a warning about his team’s strong home record but with huge respect for Sunday’s visitors and warm words about Farke’s side.
Asked if Sunday’s game was another chance to show what level Birmingham were at – similar to the Newcastle game last year – Davies said: “It is yeah. I am sure the general consensus would be a Premier League team like Leeds would be expected to progress against Championship opposition.
“They are bucking that trend by the looks of it”
“But we are at home, we’ve got a team in Leeds who I have been watching closely and I have enjoyed watching closely in the last week because I think they have really held their own in the Premier League this season.
“They are bucking that trend by the looks of it of teams going up and coming straight back down, there’s a lot to be said for that.
“I think they are obviously a very well organised outfit but they have been holding their own games.
“I watched the Chelsea game in detail, the Everton game I watched that when it was on TV, they are a very good team and for us to test ourselves against a team like that is exactly what I think we want right now.
“Every week is a test in the Championship but just what the Premier League is is it’s the pace of the game, the physical speed of the players but also the perceptive speed, how quickly they think, react, how quickly the ball moves, and I think that’s something that our players are really excited about testing themselves within.”
“A little bit like the Newcastle game last year”
Davies added: “This is a break, a pause in the Championship season and it’s now us focusing on the FA Cup.
“I think it’s the best domestic cup competition there is around the world, something that we obviously want to go as far as we can in every game.
“But this is a particularly special one because we are playing against Premier League opposition at our stadium, a little bit like the Newcastle game last year where we get to test ourselves and measure ourselves against a Premier League team.
“I know it’s going to be quicker, the game is going to be quicker.
“We have to be ready for that – I have been speaking to the players and we have been working on that – and we can really look forward to it.”