Cardiff City of the Championship will face Premier League Leeds United in the FA Cup third round at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday.
Two out-of-form sides meet each other in the FA Cup this weekend in what is usually a feisty encounter between the two sides and this fixture suggests more of the same. Leeds coach Jesse Marsch is expected to make wholesale changes to the side that drew with West Ham in midweek whilst Cardiff City boss Mark Hudson doesn’t have much in the way of reinforcements to his already depleted squad. Both clubs are in similar positions in their respective leagues, but a nice cup run would give fans something to cheer about.
Callum Robinson, Cedric Kipre and Gavin Whyte have all suffered illness and will undoubtedly miss the fixture, along with Kion Etete who is still nursing a hamstring strain. Tom Sang is set to start at right-back with Mahlon Romeo missing out with a hamstring problem.
Rubin Colwill, Andy Rinomhota, Sheyi Ojo, Isaak Davies and Jaden Philogene-Bidace will all be hoping to be recalled to the side after making the substitutes’ bench last week.
For the visitors, it is the same faces on the treatment table. Patrick Bamford resumed training this week but the game has come too quickly for the 29-year-old. Luis Sinisterra and Stuart Dallas are recovering well but are not ready for action just yet and Adam Forshaw has a hernia problem and will be missing for around two weeks.
New signing Maximilian Wober is in contention for his first start for the club, with either Liam Cooper, Robin Koch or Pascal Struijk set to miss out, depending on the position Jesse Marsch plays him.
Possible line-ups:
Cardiff City: Allsop, Sang, Ng, Nelson, Simpson, Wintle, Ralls, Rinomhota, Philogene-Bidace, Harris, O’Dowda.
Leeds United: Robles, Ayling, Cooper, Llorente, Wober, Adams, Roca, Summerville, Aaronson, Harrison, Gelhardt.
Vital Leeds score prediction: Cardiff 1 (Harris) Leeds 2 (Summerville, Harrison).
Kick-off is 2 pm, Sunday, January 8th – at the Cardiff City Stadium, Wales.