Leeds United
Leeds United have an FA Cup clash against Birmingham City this weekend. This competition took a surprising turn in the third round, when the Whites won against Derby.
Before that game, Daniel Farke was adamant that he was going to rotate to keep his team fresh during fixture congestion late in the year. But the lineup of fringe players worked as the club progressed into the next round. Now, Leeds find themselves with a real chance of making the next stage of the competition if they are able to get past Birmingham City this weekend.
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The Sky Blues are in great form ahead of this weekend; they have not lost a game since their defeat to Watford on New Year’s day. Chris Davies’ side have won four of their last seven fixtures and are just outside the promotion play-off places in the Championship.
Leeds will be wary of facing lower tier opposition in cup competitions, having already been knocked out of the EFL cup by Sheffield Wednesday.
Leeds United boss rules two stars out of FA Cup clash
In the last few weeks, the Leeds squad has been hampered with knocks and injuries. This meant a lot of players had to come into the lineup for important games; the likes of Ilia Gruev, James Justin and Lukas Nmecha have given a good account of themselves during this run. Farke has learnt to trust the options on his bench since December, when the team needed depth when the fixture list was congested.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, Daniel Farke has ruled Anton Stach and Jaka Bijol out, saying he would not risk them as they are still undergoing rehabilitation:
“We will see, we want to go into the next round but the league and to achieve survival is priority, I don’t think Struijk and Stach will be involved because there are still on the road to rehab, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back so good news and then we take decisions on who plays the game, no new injuries after the Chelsea game.”
Squad players have to show up this weekend
With many players set to be rested and rotated, it will be up to the players on the fringes of the squad to prove themselves. Guys like Wilfried Gnonto, Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe have not played much this season, but they were active in the tie against Derby. Farke will once again put his trust in these players to make sure that the club can get something out of the FA Cup tie.
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