Fulham manager Roy Hodgson fears Chris Foy's refereeing decisions may go in Birmingham's favour when the two sides meet at St Andrews on Saturday.
Alex McLeish's side were denied their second away win of the season two weeks ago thanks to Steven Gerrard's controversial second-half penalty.
McLeish was left furious with the penalty decision, which was awarded by Peter Walton when David Ngog fell in the box although replays showed the Frenchman made no contact with Toffees midfielder Lee Carsley.
Hodgson admits that decision could play into Blues' hands when Foy takes charge of Saturday's match.
"If we are talking on the sympathy front then Birmingham will be right up there in the forefront at the moment because obviously the people at Birmingham thought they were harshly done by with the refereeing decisions so that's not good for us," Hodgson said.
"One is always worried that any compensation that is due them will come at your expense so we'll have to tread very carefully there.
"I don't think any referee sets out deliberately to do that but certainly people will feel a lot of sympathy with Birmingham after their great performance at Liverpool."
Hodgson has been the victim of bad luck during Fulham's Europa League campaign this season with borderline decisions going against his side on several occasions.
Hodgson, who guided Inter Milan to the final of the UEFA Cup in 1997, admits he has doubts about introducing video technology into the game though, and believes the standard of domestic refereeing is strong.
"I must say in the Premier League refereeing standards are extremely hot out there. They are very quick," Hodgson said.
"We are talking about human beings here. Sometimes errors occur. Sometimes they occur in your favour and sometimes they don't.
"I don't think any of us in football wants to see the game changed so that every two minutes something is being referred to a video panel."
The Cottagers are looking to extend their five-match unbeaten league run which has seen them rise to 11th in the table.
A win against 15th-placed Birmingham could put them in the top half of the table, but Hodgson is taking nothing for granted.
"When that guard is relaxed then the right hook is just around the corner so one has to be very careful," he said.
"But I am pleased with what we are doing and seriously hoping I'll be pleased tonight as well."
Fulham will be without Andrew Johnson (groin) and captain Danny Murphy (knee) for the game.
Diomansy Kamara will also be missing after he failed to recover from an ankle injury despite being sent on a two-week rehabilitation course in France.