FA Cup preview: Leeds United vs Arsenal - 7M sport

FA Cup preview: Leeds United vs Arsenal



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Posted Tuesday, January 18, 2011 by thesportscampus.com

FA Cup preview: Leeds United vs Arsenal

Leeds United take Arsenal back to Elland Road for their FA Cup third round replay on Wednesday after a draw between the two teams in a pulsating game at the Emirates. The Peacocks were left ruing a lost chance to create a tremendous upset when they were leading the previous encounter all the way upto the last minute of the game, when they conceded a penalty, and subsequently, a goal, to bring the tie back to their home ground for a replay. Gunners skipper Cesc Fabregas eased Arsenal's nerves by firing in the penalty, after Leeds had taken the lead through Robert Snodgrass, who scored a penalty ten minutes into the first half, after Denilson had appended Ivorian Max Gradel. The last time the two teams met at Elland Road was in 2004 for their FA Cup third round game, where Arsenal cruised to a 4-1 win. Promotion-contenders Leeds will hope that they can replicate their 1-0 win over Manchester United last season in the same stage of the competition when they play another top team in Arsenal on Wednesday. The winner of this game will play League One side Huddersfield in the next round of the Cup and is almost guaranteed a fifth round spot.

Leeds United:

Leeds have been in a slump for a long time, going from Champions League material to relegation fodder in the blink of an eye. Their lowest point would have been being when relegated from the Championship to League One in 2007. But the team got back into the Championship at the start of this season and are in the reckoning for a foray back into the big time, as they are among the teams on the top of the table, fighting for promotion to the Premier League.

Leeds are no strangers to upsets, having beaten Manchester United in the FA Cup last season. Their well-earned win came through a goal by current Everton player Jermaine Beckford, and captain Richard Naylor sees no reason to believe his side cannot replicate their performance last year and enhance their 'giantkillers' title. The match should be special for Arsenal winger Sanchez Watt, who was loaned out to Leeds for the season, and has been given special permission to play against his parent club. The home team will be going into the game high on confidence after their 4-0 beating of Scunthorpe United this weekend, which brought them up to tied third in the Championship.

Arsenal :

The Gunners will be looking to erase the memories of a poor performance which almost removed them from the FA Cup on Wednesday. A win should be easy if they can replicate their league form, where they most recently disposed of strugglers West Ham United with great ease, cruising to a 3-0 win against the Hammers.

Arsenal have a crowded fixture list, with Saturday's Premier League game against Wigan Athletic followed by their Carling Cup second leg game against Ipswich Town. Manager Arsene Wenger will be looking at the possibility of resting some of his stars, but wouldn't want to get complacent after having struggled in the previous staging of this fixture.

Head to Head :

8 Jan '11 - Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds United (FA Cup)
16 Apr '04 - Arsenal 5 - 0 Leeds United

Form Guide :

Leeds United (WDLDD)

Leeds United 4 - 0 Scunthorpe
Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds United
Cardiff City 2 - 1 Leeds United
Leeds United 1 - 1 Middlesbrough
Leeds United 3 - 3 Portsmouth

Arsenal (WLDDW)

West Ham 0 - 3 Arsenal
Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Arsenal (Carling Cup)
Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds United (FA Cup)
Arsenal 0 - 0 Manchester City
Birmingham City 0 - 3 Arsenal

Probable Line-Ups :

Leeds United (4-4-2) - Schmiechel, O'Brien, Parker, Connolly, Bruce, Gradel, Johnston, Howston, Snodgrass, Watt, Somma

Leeds might be without top scorer Luciano Becchio, who sustained a back injury in Leeds' 4-0 win against Scunthorpe in the Championship in the weekend. Otherwise, they are likely to field a strong team, including Arsenal loanee Sanchez Watt.

Arsenal (4-4-2) - Szczesny, Djourou, Koscielny, Gibbs, Sagna, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh


Arsenal were hit by bad news this week as it was confirmed that Thomas Vermaelen needs surgery on his Achilles, and will be out for another month at least. Manager Arsene Wenger will have one eye on forthcoming Premier League fixtures and hence might be tempted to play a slightly weakened team. Bacary Sagna has completed his three game suspension and might come in for Emmanuel Eboue at right back, though Wenger might consider using the Ivorian further upfield where he can do more damage on the wing that Nicklas Bendtner. Wenger might also be toying with the idea of giving young Welshman Aaron Ramsey his first start of the season after having recovered from the horrific double break he suffered on his leg almost 12 months ago.

Prediction:

Arsenal have never lost an FA Cup third round tie since Arsene Wenger took over in 1995, and would like to keep that record intact when they play Leeds. The home team will have have the support of nearly 40,000 fans at Elland Road, but might find it difficult to compete with Arsenal again, after almost having won their previous encounter. The previous fixture might come back to haunt them as a great chance lost to move forward in the Cup, as Arsenal are expected to be more focused and see out a win in this game.

 

 



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