A victory for the Whites would secure a trip to Wembley but much more too
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
05:00, 05 Apr 2026
Daniel Farke is on the verge on taking Leeds to Wembley for the first time since the 2024 play-off final
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Daniel Farke is on the verge on taking Leeds to Wembley for the first time since the 2024 play-off final(Image: Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The last time Leeds United reached an FA Cup semi-final, the world wide web had not yet been created, nobody had heard of DVDs and Google was something that sounded like a shower scrubber.
It is 39 years since Leeds last made it to the final four and Sunday presents a good opportunity to end that wait. The match comes with a psychological undertone with opponents West Ham United one of their Premier League relegation rivals.
The Whites have not scored against a top-flight team in four games, have not registered a win against one in six attempts and have only beaten a Premier League club away from home once all season.
So a triumph over the Hammers on Sunday would indeed mean a trip to Wembley for the first time since that 2024 Championship play-off final defeat, but also much more mentally.
Daniel Farke, though, is taking a more reserved view. “You have to be realistic. It doesn't give us one point in the league,” he said of Sunday’s cup tie.
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“So it's not like if we win, then we are flying and everything will be easy. Or if we go out of the competition, we have no chance for a positive run in.
“I hope, of course, for a good result, for several reasons. But I also won't over-interpret it. It will still be a hard struggle to be there with a good outcome in each of the Premier League games. And for that, [a win] would be important but also not decisive.”
Daniel Farke has made it clear that Premier League survival is the priority and he will not risk injury doubts on Sunday, which likely means that Dominic Calvert-Lewin does not make the line-up having missed training with a minor hamstring issue on Thursday.
But that is not to say he is unaware what is on the line this weekend. “The Premier League is our bread and butter business and it has, of course, highest priority but I'm a big believer in the cup competition,” said Farke.
“It's the first time in over two decades that we are in the quarter-final of the FA Cup [since 2003] and we know that we have the chance to write a bit more history for this club.
“We want to go with a strong starting line-up without doing anything stupid. If we get the feeling someone is a risk due to physical problems or whatever, we won't risk it.”
Yet Farke added: “We take this game very seriously. We are on it and want to prepare in the best possible way. We know that to take part in the semi-final would be big, and another chapter of history for this club, because we haven't been there for such a long time.”
This game marks the start of the final run-in period, where nerves are tested and resilience pushed. Leeds sit four points ahead of West Ham, who occupy the last Premier League relegation spot, with the bottom four all left to play in the final seven games - including a final day clash at West Ham.
While Sunday will be seen as a precursor for that, Leeds want to have safety secured before then. First, Welsh quartet Ethan Ampadu, Daniel James, Joe Rodon and Karl Darlow will have to shake off last week’s World Cup qualification disappointment.
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This and the general cataclysm of the run-in means Farke’s man management skills will be tested over the course of the next two months. “I would say, it is 80% of my job,” Farke said. “To lead a group and to manage the expectations and the emotions, to motivate the players, to back them.
“Sometimes a little kick in the ass is also needed. Thirty years ago it was the same - that man management is crucial. And after a week like this, perhaps even a bit more.”
In the words of Farke himself “there is no replacement for wins”. One on Sunday would feel like a big mental step forwards.