West Ham vs Leeds – News and Probable Lineups

The only FA Cup match on Sunday features a clash between West Ham United and Leeds United, as the quarter-finals reach their conclusion at the London Stadium.

West Ham edged past fellow London side Brentford via penalties to secure their place in the last eight, while Leeds cruised to a 3-0 victory over Norwich City, leaving them just 90 minutes away from Wembley.

Match overview

In a familiar scene at the London Stadium, West Ham took advantage of a poorly executed panenka to eliminate a neighbouring side, with Dango Ouattara mimicking Ademola Lookman’s infamous penalty to send Brentford packing from the FA Cup.

Jarrod Bowen put the Hammers ahead twice, only for Igor Thiago to restore parity on both occasions for the visitors. While Ouattara made a ridiculous error from the spot, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side converted all five of their penalty attempts successfully.

West Ham are now preparing for their first FA Cup quarter-final in a decade, having last reached this stage in the 2015-16 season, when they were eliminated by eventual champions Manchester United in a replay. However, it’s been nearly two decades since they progressed to the semi-finals, following their final appearance in 2006.

The urgency of Premier League survival takes precedence for West Ham, currently residing in the relegation zone, having gathered only one point from the last six available since knocking out Brentford, which included a commendable 1-1 draw against Manchester City followed by a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa.

While the draw with Manchester City extended West Ham’s impressive unbeaten home run to six matches across all competitions, they have managed only one clean sheet at the London Stadium all season, with that coming against Bournemouth.

The FA Cup fifth round highlighted the Daniel Farke derby at Elland Road, where the German’s current team Leeds comfortably defeated his former club Norwich, with goals from Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson, and Joel Piroe.

Leeds, having only won the FA Cup once back in 1972, have ended an extended quarter-final drought, last reaching this stage in 2003 when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Sheffield United.

However, Leeds have struggled to find their scoring touch in the Premier League lately, remaining goalless in their last four top-flight encounters after consecutive draws with Crystal Palace and Brentford.

The Whites find themselves just four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham, although they have demonstrated resilience on the road, remaining unbeaten in six consecutive away matches and suffering only one defeat in their previous 10 outings.

Leeds also defeated West Ham 2-1 during their last visit to Elland Road in October, but they have lost three of their last four visits to West Ham’s home ground, conceding at least twice in each of those matches.

Team News

West Ham will face Leeds without the presence of former Whites winger Crysencio Summerville, as he is sidelined with a calf injury, preventing him from reuniting with his previous club.

Defender Jean-Clair Todibo is also dealing with a similar situation, as is veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who is still battling a back issue and does not have a set date for his return.

Kyle Walker-Peters, Taty Castellanos, Soungoutou Magassa, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Tomas Soucek would all miss any potential semi-final should they receive a yellow card on Sunday, though only the latter three could still be included in the hosts’ starting XI.

On the suspension front, Leeds left-back Gudmundsson returns from his Premier League ban this weekend and is anticipated to recover from a minor knee knock sustained while assisting his country in World Cup qualification.

Gudmundsson was one of two concerns for Leeds during the international break, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin withdrew from England duty due to a hamstring strain, with Farke unable to assure his fitness for Sunday.

Forward Noah Okafor returned from a hamstring injury during the match against Brentford but was left out of the Switzerland squad as a precaution; however, there are no significant worries regarding his availability.

West Ham United probable starting XI:

Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Magassa, Fernandez; Bowen, Wilson, Traore

Leeds United probable starting XI:

Perry; Struijk, Bijol, Rodon; Bogle, Stach, Longstaff, Ampadu, Justin; Aaronson, Nmecha

The absence of Calvert-Lewin might hinder Leeds, particularly with Okafor still aiming for full fitness; this situation could be detrimental for them.

The Whites’ away performance remains impressive, yet West Ham, rejuvenated at their London Stadium, have our support to advance to Wembley.