Nuno Espirito Santo and Daniel Farke will square off once again as Leeds United face West Ham in the FA Cup quarterfinals. Both teams are coming into this tie despite their poor standing in the league.
Leeds and West Ham sit near the bottom of the table, with four points separating both sides. The two teams will also meet before the end of the campaign, in what will be an interesting relegation clash. Nuno Espirito Santo made some interesting comments in Friday’s press conference, saying his side are prepared for what the Whites will bring. The previous meeting between the two teams saw Leeds United beat the Hammers 2-1 at Elland Road. But this time around, the game will take place in London giving West Ham the upper hand.
Supercomputer predicts Leeds United vs West Ham FA Cup clash
Daniel Farke’s men have made it to the stage for the first time since the German coach took over the club. He has been known not to take cup games seriously, often rotating players. But this season, even with rotation, Leeds have managed to get to the quarterfinals. Now, the only thing between them and a place in the semi-final is West Ham on Sunday.
| Round | Opponent |
|---|---|
| 3rd Round | Derby County |
| 4th Round | Birmingham City |
| 5th Round | Norwich City |
| Quarter-Final | West Ham United |
Nuno Espirito’s side will also be up for the task; the Hammers have not been great this season. But in front of a home crowd, and with the team in some good form, the expectations are high. Just two defeats in their last nine games shows how the London club have improved over the last month.
The game is expected to be a close call, but according to the Opta Analyst Supercomputer, West Ham have a 43.4% chance of winning. Which will be very strange to Leeds fans, considering the only time these two teams met ended in a defeat for Nuno’s men. The Whites have a 29.9% chance and a draw stands at 26.7%.
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Daniel Farke has a huge decision to make
This weekend’s lineup will not be as straightforward as it seems. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is said to be a doubt after he pulled up in training this week. Outside that, the Whites will look to have a full squad available. Where the problem comes is Fark choosing the players; in the FA Cup he has preferred some squad players during this run and they have delivered. He will now be tempted to make changes to what has worked previously. The likes of Wilfried Gnonto, Lucas Perri and Sean Longstaff have taken their chances in this cup run and deserve to continue playing.
| Most Appearances | Most Goals | Most Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Jaka Bijol (3) | Gabriel Gudmundsson (1) | Lukas Nmecha (2) |
| Ethan Ampadu (3) | Sean Longstaff (1) | Jaka Bijol (1) |
| Lukas Nmecha and four others (3) | James Justin and four others (1) | Gabriel Gudmundsson, Noah Okafor (1) |
