Wolves manager Mick McCarthy will be looking to banish the memory of his side’s 3-1 defeat against Preston by putting one over neighbours Birmingham in tonight’s FA Cup third-round clash.

An under-par performance from McCarthy’s men saw the Coca-Cola Championship leaders slip to only their second home defeat of the season on Saturday. 

After establishing a comprehensive lead, Wolves’ advantage at the top of the table now stands at just four points and McCarthy’s men are without a win in three. 

But the former Sunderland manager has now challenged his side to bounce back from the defeat by beating City tomorrow. 

“I never thought this season was going to be easy, it is always hard,” McCarthy said “We lost the game but we won’t panic as we are a good side. 

“All the questions that have been asked of me and my side have been in the first half of the season. The question is now: can we bounce back? We shall see.” 

The original tie had to be postponed due to a frozen pitch and Birmingham’s last match at Blackpool suffered the same fate, meaning that the Blues have not played in two weeks. 

Blues boss Alex McLeish will be without new loan signings Scott Sinclair and Hameur Bouazza, who are both ineligible to play. 

Recent meetings between the two have been tight affairs – five of the last six derbies have been drawn and Wolves have not won at St Andrews for almost eight years. The winners take on Middlesbrough in the next round.