Cardiff City vs Leeds United Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Cardiff City will host Leeds United in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon, with a place in the fourth round up for grabs.

Cardiff City are coming into the game against Leeds United on the back of four draws and a defeat in their last five matches across all competitions. The Bluebirds will have to improve considerably to grind out a positive result here against the Premier League outfit.

Meanwhile, Leeds United are not in the best of form either, and they will need to step up their performance levels in order to get the job done.

The Whites come into this game on the back of two draws and a defeat in their last three matches. Jesse Marsch is under pressure to get his side going. And a win over Cardiff this weekend could give Leeds a much-needed confidence boost.

Leeds have the quality to beat most teams on their day. But they are lacking in confidence and momentum right now. It remains to be seen whether they can bounce back to winning ways here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Cardiff City

The home side will be without a number of players for the FA Cup clash on Sunday. Kion Etete and Mahlon Romeo are both out with injuries, while the likes of Cedric Kipre, Gavin Whyte, and Callum Robinson are unavailable due to illnesses.

Cardiff are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ryan Allsop in goal. Tom Sang and Jack Simpson will be deployed as the full-backs here. They will look to contain the Leeds wingers and provide an outlet during counter-attacks. At the heart of the defence, Perry Ng will partner with Joe Ralls.

Sheyi Ojo and Ryan Wintle are likely to partner in the midfield pivot. While Wintle will look to break down the Leeds play, Ojo will hope to inject creativity, flair and drive in the middle of the park.

Andy Rinomhota and Callum O’Dowda will line up as the wingers, with Isaak Davies reprising the number ten role. Finally, Mark Harris will lead the line for Cardiff City against Leeds United in the FA Cup third-round clash.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Allsop; Sang, Ng, Ralls, Simpson; Ojo, Wintle; Rinomhota, Callum Robinson, O’Dowda; Harris

Leeds United

Meanwhile, Leeds United have a number of injury issues to deal with as well. Luis Sinisterra, Stuart Dallas, Adam Forshaw and Archie Gray all remain sidelined.

Jesse Marsch is likely to set up his side in a 4-2-3-1 as well, with Illan Meslier, recently linked with several bigwigs, in goal. Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk will be deployed as the full-backs, with Robin Koch and Liam Cooper marshalling the defence in the middle.

Sam Greenwood and Tyler Adams will likely line up at the base of the midfield. Greenwood will look to drive the team forward as Adams looks to break up the play and win the ball back for his side.

Brenden Aaronson and Crysencio Summerville will be the wingers for Marsch here, and they will need to add creativity as well as goals to the side. Wilfried Gnonto will start as the central attacking midfielder, and he will link the midfield to the attack. Finally, Rodrigo is expected to lead the line for the Premier League side.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Struijk; Greenwood, Adams; Aaronson, Gnonto, Summerville; Rodrigo

Key Stats

• This is the first FA Cup meeting between Cardiff and Leeds since January 2002. Back then, third tier Cardiff won 2-1 against the Whites, who were top of the Premier League. At the time, it was the first time a side top of the top-flight had lost to a team from outside the top-two divisions in the FA Cup since February 1971, also Leeds against Colchester United of the fourth tier.
• All four times Leeds have been eliminated from the FA Cup by Cardiff City has come in the third round, doing so in three consecutive seasons between 1955/56 and 1957/58 and also 2001/02. Only three fixtures have seen a team knock out another more often in the FA Cup third round: Manchester United vs Reading (6), Manchester City vs Leicester City (6) and Manchester United vs Aston Villa (8).
• Leeds have lost their last six matches in the FA Cup, a run stretching back to January 2017. Only once have they lost more consecutive games in the competition, losing seven in a row between 1955 and 1961, a run that included three defeats in a row against Cardiff.
• This is Leeds United’s 10th consecutive away match in the FA Cup, stretching back to January 2016. They are only the second team in FA Cup history to play 10 away games in a row, after Stockport County between 1996 and 2001 (11).
• As a Championship side, Cardiff are winless in their last nine FA Cup matches against Premier League teams (D2 L7) since a 2-0 away win at Middlesbrough in March 2008, going on to reach the final that year.

Player to Watch

Rodrigo

The Spanish forward is in fine form this season and he has managed to score ten goals in 16 Premier League games for the Whites. He will be looking to take advantage of Cardiff’s vulnerabilities and punish them here.

Patrick Bamford is a doubt for this game. So Rodrigo is set to start for Leeds despite the need for some rest. The Spaniard will certainly have the opportunities to make his mark, and he is our man to watch this weekend.

Prediction

Cardiff City 1-2 Leeds United

Both teams come into this game on the back of some poor results, and this should be a closely-contested affair. It will be difficult to separate the two sides here. But Leeds are a better team on paper, and they are under a lot of pressure to turn things around.

The Whites will have to work hard for a win here, and The Hard Tackle predicts a narrow 2-1 win for Jesse Marsch’s men on Sunday.