Crawley Town vs Leeds United prediction, preview, team news and more | FA Cup 2020-21
Leeds United begin their FA Cup campaign with a trip to Broadfield Stadium to face League Two side Crawley Town on Sunday.
This will also be the first time since 2004 that they enter the competition as a Premier League side, having only been promoted back to the top-flight last summer.
They're currently languishing on 12th in the standings. The Peacocks have impressed with a fluid attacking brand of football which has caused plenty of trouble for opponents.
It's a similar story for Crawley, who're the joint-most prolific side in their division, despite sitting only sixth in the rankings.
Having already seen off Torquay United and Wimbledon in the competition, they'll look to pull off an upset against a Leeds side that hasn't won an FA Cup game since January 2017.
Crawley Town vs Leeds United Head-To-Head
This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Crawley Town and Leeds United.
Crawley Town Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-D-W-W
Leeds United Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-W-W-L
Crawley Town vs Leeds United Team News
Crawley Town
The home side do not have any fresh injury concerns and manager John Yems is able to select the exact starting XI that he desires.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Leeds United
Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa is expected to make wholesale changes to the side which started in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. This is a great opportunity to rest a few players and give others a rare starting role.
Gaetano Berardi, Adam Forshaw, and Robin Koch are out through injury. Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente will also be unavailable for this game.
Injury: Gaetano Berardi, Adam Forshaw, and Robin Koch
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente
Crawley Town vs Leeds United Predicted XI
Crawley Town (5-3-2): Glenn Morris; David Sesay, Jordan Tunnicliffe, Tony Craig, Tom Dallison, Nick Tsaroulla; Jake Hassenthaler, Dannie Bulman, Jack Powell; Max Watters, Ashley Nadesan.
Leeds United (4-2-3-1): Kiko Casilla; Oliver Casey, Leif Davis, Pascal Struijk, Luke Ayling; Jamie Shackleton, Mateusz Klich; Helder Costa, Pablo Hernandez, Ian Poveda; Niall Huggins.
Crawley Town vs Leeds United Prediction
Despite their diminutive status, Crawley should be able to put up a challenge on Sunday and make it difficult for Leeds United.
However, the visitors should have enough quality to win this clash and advance to the next round.
Prediction: Crawley Town 0-2 Leeds United