Leeds United will be set to face Crawley Town in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup competition at the Peoples Pension Stadium on 10th January 2021, at 13:30 BST.
In-form Crawley Town:
The League Two side will be looking to create havoc in the Leeds dressing room as Leeds have not won a single FA Cup fixture since January 2017. Crawley Town have been unbeaten in their last 9 matches since their defeat to Grimsby Town on November 29th. Since then the League Two side have climbed the ladder in the League 2 division sitting 6th just five points behind league leaders Carlisle.
Crawley Town have been victorious over Torquay United after beating them 5-6 in extra time in a stunning comeback match. In the second round, Crawley faced League 1 side Wimbledon and beat them 2-1 in normal time. They are currently in great form after winning their last 2 games in the league, so therefore they will be in a good shape and will have more confidence as they face Leeds United.
Time to break the FA Cup curse for Leeds United:
Leeds United lost their last game to Tottenham Hotspurs with the scoreline reading 3-0 as Leeds failed to beat Mourinho’s men after being in such great form with victories over West Brom and Burnley. Although Leeds had 8 days to prepare for their clash against Crawley Town and the boss suggests Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente are fit to play if needed but won’t risk them.
When the media asked the boss about the fixture he said, “The sole fact that we have to analyse the opponent we’re going to face, it allows you to take a look into League Two, the stadiums and style of play. So this is very good and of course, you see the different players there are at this level.”
Marcelo Bielsa couldn’t help but praise the League 1 side saying, “Crawley are a team that responds to a direct approach and their defensive organisation is also a tradition. They have two midfielders that have creativeness. They have forwards and wingers with the capacity to unbalance a team.”
Leeds will look to storm past Crawley as they have not won a FA Cup fixture since 2017 but Bielsa would also look to rotate even though his team was given a good 8 days to prepare. Jamie Shackleton, Pablo Hernandez, Kiko Casilla, and Helder Costa will hope to start against Crawley as Bielsa may need to rest some of his players for the next game against Brighton in the Premier League.
Therefore we should expect changes in the Leeds side while Crawley will look to play at their full potential as they are in good form and will look to boost their hopes by beating the Premier League side. A goal thrilling match should be expected with Leeds winning comfortably but a major upset may just be the headline for Crawley Town.
