Leeds United head to Birmingham City in the FA Cup fourth round
James Smailes
14:38, 13 Feb 2026Updated 14:49, 13 Feb 2026
Joel Piroe of Leeds United
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Joel Piroe of Leeds United(Image: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Daniel Farke has suggested he will field a strong Leeds United line-up in the FA Cup at Birmingham City and will not be rotating his squad for the sake of it. Farke made a eight changes last time out in the Cup against Derby County, yet still went with a strong side full of senior players as the likes of Joel Piroe, Jack Harrison and Karl Darlow were brought in.
Now, with Leeds not entering the game on a similarly busy run like in early January, Farke concedes there is not as much pressure on him to rest his players. The Whites boss will not take any risks and as a result Anton Stach and Pascal Struijk won't be risked as they continue to recover from injury and are given time to get ready for Aston Villa next up in the Premier League.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the Chelsea game and is in contention to play, but again could find himself not risked in the starting line-up.
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Farke says he will assess his squad over the next two days before making a call on his line-up for the Sunday lunchtime clash, but insists he is determined to progress and will pick the strongest side he can based on the players who he feels are ready to play.
"We want to go into the next round, but the league and to achieve survival is a priority and we don't want to take any risks," said Farke. "So Anton Stach and Pascal Struijk won't feature as they stay on the road to fitness with their rehab.
"The good news is Dominic Calvert-Lewin has recovered from his illness. We will take some late decisions on who we think is ready to play and who needs looking after, but there are no new injuries.
"At the moment it is too early to speak about the starting line-up. We have this afternoon's training and Saturday and after I will decide on who will be in the starting line-up and who will be left out.
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"Last time it was more necessary to change, I doubt we will need to rotate as much for this game. We want to go into the next round and will see how far we can go. We won't take any risks, but we won't go there with a totally different group."
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