Leeds United welcome Cardiff City to Elland Road in the concluding Third Round replay of 2022-23 FA Cup.
Having fought back to snatch a 2-2 draw away at Cardiff in the original tie, Leeds know that victory would see them or the Bluebirds visit Boreham Wood/Accrington Stanley in the Fourth Round.
Team News
Leeds will be without new signing, Georginio Rutter who is ineligible for this tie due to FA rules, which forbids new signings made after initial FA Cup tie from participating in the replay.
Luis Sinisterra (foot) is a doubt but Adam Forshaw (hip), Crysencio Summerville (ankle), Archie Gray (toe) and Stuart Dallas (thigh) are still sidelined.
Cardiff have no fresh injury concerns to report as Joel Bagan is available for selection, after he served an one-match ban in their 1-1 draw against Wigan on Saturday.
Jamilu Collins (knee), Oliver Denham (knock) and Mahlon Romeo (hamstring) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Leeds’ replay against Cardiff will take place on Wednesday 18 January at Elland Road, with kick-off confirmed for 7:45pm GMT live on ITV4 in UK.
Stat Attack
- This is the first FA Cup tie between Leeds and Cardiff to need a replay, after all eight previous meetings were settled at the first attempt.
- Cardiff have won three of five previous FA Cup visits to Elland Road (W3, L2).
- All three of Cardiff’s FA Cup victories at Elland Road were settled by 2-1 results at the Third Round stage in three consecutive seasons between 1955-56 – 1957-58 seasons.
- This is Leeds’ first FA Cup match to be played at Elland Road since beating Rotherham 2-0 in January 2016.
- Cardiff have won just one of their last five away matches in the FA Cup (W1, D1, L3), prevailing 4-3 at Carlisle United in a Third Round replay in January 2020.
Prediction
Having heavily rotated his squad in the original tie which didn’t exactly deliver, I do expect Jesse Marsch to go relatively strong for this replay which represents their best chance of ending their bogey run of Third Round exits.
Marsch’s Whites though will have to improve upon a disappointing league defeat at Villa where they wasted their chances, yet defensively struggled to handle quick attacks which is something that Cardiff will certainly be eager to target if given the opportunities like in the first leg.
Cardiff also enter this match with a managerial bounce after Mark Hudson’s departure at the weekend following a scrappy draw against Wigan, during which they led 1-0 with minutes left yet still managed to concede in a worrying sign of their defensive vulnerability.
Defence therefore will likely play a crucial role in the outcome of this match and based on current quality, I fancy Leeds to get the job completed on home turf but it might be a nervy game given the defensive fragilities within both squads.
Prediction: Leeds 2-1 Cardiff
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