Leeds Look to End Two Decade-Long FA Cup Quarter-Final Drought

Fulham vs Leeds United

Leeds United are one win away from reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 20 years.

The Whites got an important win in their fight for Premier League survival on the weekend, and they will look to carry over that form to their FA Cup fifth-round tie against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The Cottagers are in the midst of an impressive six-game unbeaten run and the FA Cup 2023 betting odds will be backing them to end their 13-year wait to return to the quarter-finals.

Talking Points

Fulham’s unbeaten run continues

High-flying Fulham missed their chance to close in on the top five in the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Wolves. But still, they extended their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.

Manor Solomon came on as a substitute to score Fulham’s equaliser against Wolves. It’s the third game in a row that the 23-year-old Israeli has come off the bench to score.

With leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic missing the last two games due to a hamstring injury and their other centre-forward options misfiring – Carlos Vinicius and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have combined for just one goal thus far in 2023 – the Cottagers will be hoping the in-form Solomon delivers some FA Cup 2023 highlights.

Fulham coach Marco Silva has heavily rotated his squad in the first few rounds of the FA Cup against lower-tier opposition, but he might field a strong side this time around with a quarter-final berth on the line against a fellow Premier League opponent in Leeds.

Fulham’s run of three straight clean sheets came to an end in their draw with Wolves. But they did extend their run of allowing just one goal or fewer to 10 games in a row, which is a testament to their much-improved defence.

Leeds get big win under new boss Gracia

Leeds significantly boosted their Premier League survival hopes as they scored a 1-0 win at home against last-placed Southampton in new coach Javi Gracia’s debut. Full-back Junior Firpo popped up with the winning goal 13 minutes from time. The win lifted Leeds to 17^th place, one point out of the relegation zone.

Gracia fielded a conventional 4-2-3-1 formation, with Patrick Bamford once again spearheading the attack in leading scorer Rodrigo’s absence. Bamford remains without a goal since his brace in Leeds’ 5-2 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup second round.

With Premier League survival of utmost priority for Leeds, it remains to be seen whether Gracia will field a strong side against Fulham. Record signing Georginio Rutter has made just one start for Leeds, which came in the previous round against Accrington Stanley, and he could be handed another runout.

Pascal Struijk and Liam Cooper both missed the Saints match due to injury, but they will likely be available to provide Gracia with more defensive options.

Leeds’ win over Accrington was one of their only two away wins this season. Their other win was at Anfield against Liverpool. They have suffered nine defeats, with four draws.

History

The head-to-heads between Fulham and Leeds have been quite even. The two have met nine times in the Premier League era, and both teams are tied at 4 wins with a draw.

However, Leeds did the double over Fulham on their return to the Premier League in 2020-21. They also came out on top in the EFL Cup that season, winning on penalties.

But Fulham finally ended their losing skid against Leeds in their first meeting this season. Thanks to goals from Mitrovic, De Cordova Reid and Willian, the Cottagers came away with a 3-2 win at Elland Road.

Betting Tip 

SBOTOP odds have Fulham installed as 2.04 favourites to get the win at Craven Cottage. Leeds are priced at 3.15 to win in London, while a draw is 3.40.

This is a great opportunity for both clubs to make it to the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in over a decade, so even with a few changes to the sides, expect this to be quite a competitive match.

But with both sides likely missing their top goalscorers, this might end up being another low-scoring affair decided by the odd goal.

 

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