Leeds United reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time since the 1980s this past weekend. They faced West Ham in the quarterfinal in London.
And for a few moments in the game, it looked like the Whites had thrown their chance away. They looked to be cruising to a win at 2-0 up in the 75th minute, but the Hammers managed to equalize at the death. West Ham scored again in extra time, but the goal was ruled out. The game went to penalties where Lucas Perri was the hero, as his saves won the tie.
Paul Merson makes huge u-turn on Leeds United result
Leeds have now set a date with Chelsea at the Wembley stadium later this month. Unfortunately for the Whites, this week, the Premier League announced a schedule change that would see their game against Bournemouth move. It was planned for 21st April, but has now been moved to 22nd April, which would give them just two days of rest before the semi-final.
Paul Merson has made a dramatic u-turn on his opinion on the FA Cup result on Sunday. He mentioned that the winner of the game between Leeds United and West Ham would have the advantage in the battle for survival. But now, he is saying that playing in the semi-final is now a disadvantage for the Whites.
“If someone told these two teams they had to choose between getting into the semi-finals of the FA Cup or staying up in the Premier League, they would choose the latter all day long!” he told Sportskeeda.
“It will be big for the fans (going to Wembley). But they (Leeds) will be playing the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on a weekend when their relegation rivals will be in action a league game. So I’m not sure if having an extra game helps in this context because the pressure will be on.”
READ MORE: Anton Stach may return for Leeds United as update posted ahead of Man Utd clash
Whites can still navigate fixture schedule
Even though Chelsea will get more rest before the semi-final as things stand, Leeds United can still navigate this. The run up to the semi-final has seen Daniel Farke trust some of the players on the bench to make an impact. The likes of Ao Tanaka, Sean Longstaff and Lucas Perri have delivered in the cup when called upon, so Farke can rely on them again. The likes of James Justin, Wilfried Gnonto and Sebastiaan Bornauw have also shown they can step in when needed, so there is no excuse to not find a balance in team selection when it comes to these two games.
