FA Cup | Fourth Round

Feb 8, 2025 at 12.15pm UK

Elland Road

Leeds vs Millwall

Match preview

Leeds extended their impressive unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 games with a 2-0 win over Coventry City on Wednesday night, keeping their sixth successive clean sheet.

Joel Piroe, who scored a brace in the Whites' 7-0 thrashing of Cardiff City last weekend, opened the scoring against Coventry before Jayden Bogle added a second just before the half-hour mark to move the South Yorkshire side five points clear at the top of the Championship.

Daniel Farke hailed his side's "top-class performance" but has urged his players to be "much more efficient" and was critical of their "lack of cutting edge" in the final third against Coventry, which he believes could prove costly against tough opposition.

Leeds now face a challenging run of Championship fixtures against Watford, Sunderland, Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion, but must first turn their attention to the FA Cup as they seek to reach the fifth round for a third successive season.

The Whites, who beat Harrogate Town 1-0 in the third round last month, will be fancying their chances on Saturday, having won eight of their last nine home meetings with Millwall in all competitions.

Millwall failed to win any of their first four Championship games under new boss Alex Neil, but they have won their last three, most recently a 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at The Den last weekend.

Aaron Connolly's opener after just 30 seconds was quickly cancelled out by Alfie Lloyd's equaliser three minutes later in a frantic start to the game, but the Lions were indebted to debutant Luke Cundle, who netted the winner on 25 minutes.

Nine points in eight days has seen Millwall move up to 14th in the Championship, 13 points clear of the relegation zone and just four points off the play-off places with 16 league games remaining.

Millwall are now bidding to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2018-19, but they travel to Elland Road this weekend having lost each of their last six games against teams in the same division or higher, including a 3-2 defeat to last season's Championship winners Leicester City.

The Lions, who beat non-league Dagenham & Redbridge 3-0 in the third round last month, have never played Leeds in the FA Cup. The only cup competition in which they have met the Whites was the short-lived Full Members' Cup, where they won 2-0 in the second round in December 1987 and November 1988.

Recent Performance

Leeds United FA Cup form:W

Leeds United form (all competitions):WWWDWW

Millwall FA Cup form:W

Millwall form (all competitions):WLDWWW

Team News

Leeds' only injury concern is striker Patrick Bamford, who is yet to return to training after being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Farke has confirmed that he will "probably rotate a bit more than just one or two positions" this weekend, so key players such as Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Ao Tanaka, Daniel James and Piroe could all start as substitutes or be rested altogether.

Karl Darlow, Josuha Guilavogui, Pascal Struijk, Sam Byram, Joe Rothwell, Wilfried Gnonto, Mateo Joseph and Largie Ramazani were among those who started in the third-round win over Harrogate, the latter scoring the only goal of that game, and they will be hoping to force their way back into the starting line-up on Saturday.

As for Millwall, Femi Azeez has stepped up his return from injury and returned to training, while Neil has also confirmed that Josh Coburn is back on the pitch. However, it remains to be seen whether either player will feature in the matchday squad.

Shaun Hutchinson and Aidomo Emakhu are also close to a comeback, while Ryan Leonard is targeting a return from a calf injury at the end of March.

Casper De Norre was on target in the third round win over Dag & Red and is in contention to start in the centre of the park alongside either George Saville or Billy Mitchell, while the likes of Macaulay Langstaff, Duncan Watmore and George Honeyman will all be pushing for a recall.

Possible starting lineup

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Darlow; Schmidt, Guilavogui, Struijk, Byram; Gruev, Rothwell; Gnonto, Aaronson, Ramazani; Joseph

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Jensen; Crama, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan; Mitchell, De Norre; Watmore, Honeyman, Connolly; Ivanovic