A look ahead to the Emirates FA Cup third round tie with Championship side Leeds United.
Peterborough United welcome high-flying Sky Bet Championship side Leeds United to the Weston Homes Stadium in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday afternoon (2pm) for a tie that will be played in front of a sell-out crowd.
Darren Ferguson’s men go into the encounter on the back of a wonderful start to 2024 with Ricky-Jade Jones netting a late winner to secure a 3-2 victory at Derby County. Leeds have been keeping pace with the top two in the Championship despite the relentless pace and beat Birmingham City 3-0 at Elland Road last time out.
TEAM NEWS
Posh goalkeepers Nicholas Bilokapic and Will Blackmore are both on the side-lines through injury, but there is better news on the fitness of striker Malik Mothersille who has recovered from a heel injury.
Romoney Crichlow should be back in the squad after a back problem, but Jonson Clarke-Harris is unavailable due to a calf complaint. Peter Kioso has returned to Rotherham United so a change will need to be made at right-back with Jadel Katongo, Emmanuel Fernandez and James Dornelly all vying for that position.
Leeds also have goalkeeper issues with Islan Meslier and Karl Darlow unavailable, while boss Daniel Farke has confirmed that he won’t take any risks with any member of his squad if they are feeling any knocks.
ONE TO WATCH
Patrick Bamford (pictured below) is expected to lead the line after scoring on his return to the starting line-up against Birmingham. Bamford has struggled with injury and form of late, but there is no doubt he is a threat. He is good in the air, adept with the ball at his feet and can score out of nothing. His goals helped Leeds reach the Premier League a number of years ago.
FROM THE MANAGER
“It is a tie that everybody is looking forward too. I can’t see it remaining goal-less because both sides like to attack and both sides are similar in terms of plenty of pace in their front four. It will be a good test for us, a good yardstick of how far we need to go. We will respect them but we certainly won’t fear them,” Darren Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
The game is a sell-out with no tickets available on the day. Leeds have been granted an allocation of around 4,000 and will occupy the Deskgo Stand and the away section of the North Stand.
POSH+
Due to competition rules, we are unable to sell match passes, either audio or video, however if you are a current subscriber you can listen to audio commentary provided by Chris Dowsett, Nilesh Patel and former Posh defender Tommy Williams.
HEAD TO HEAD
There haven’t been too many games between the two sides – certainly not in competitive action. The last meeting between the two sides in the league was in 2013 with Dwight Gayle’s (pictured scoring below) effort cancelled out by Sam Byram in a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.
The two sides have met in a pre-season friendly since – Shaq Coulthirst with two goals in a 2-1 win at the Weston Homes Stadium. Click here to watch back the highlights from that match.
A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS
There have been a few connections down the years between the two sides including Nicky Ajose, Toumani Diagouraga, Tyler Denton and Adam Drury.
Among the others include; Jamie McMaster, Liam Dickinson, Ben White (pictured below), Ronnie Robinson, Stuart Taylor and Scott Wootton.
Of course, David Seaman was on the books of Leeds too, but didn’t feature for the Whites prior to his arrival in PE2.
ROAD CLOSURE
Supporters are advised that London Road, from the Peacock pub to the Premier Inn (old police building) will be closed to road traffic following the final whistle.
This is in operation in the interests of public safety for supporters exiting the stadium.
COMPETITION RULES
If the tie is level at the end of the 90 minutes, there will be a replay at Elland Road. Both sides can name nine substitutes with five permitted to come on.
MATCH OFFICIAL
Sam Allison is the match referee.