Fulham boss Marco Silva has warned his team that it will be "difficult to predict" how Javi Gracia's Leeds United will line-up ahead of their fifth round FA Cup clash, as he looked forward to a "proper cup tie".
A place in the quarter-finals of the historic competition await one of Leeds or Fulham, as the two Premier League sides go head to head in the nation's capital. The Cottagers have been flying high in the top-flight this term, but a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Wolves in their last match would have given the Whites some cautious optimism going into the game.
Gracia's side claimed their first league victory against Southampton last weekend in the Spaniard's first game in charge. And it is the fact that the former Watford boss - who replaced Silva at Vicarage Road back in 2018 - has only been in charge at Elland Road for one game that raises concerns for Silva heading into the game.
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“Full respect to Leeds," Silva said. "We know their capacity, what we're going to face tomorrow night, the support they are going to have again. We played against them in a different competition, the Carabao Cup, last season and we know what type of support they have in that situation.
“It will be a proper cup tie, in my opinion, two good teams that want to go through. It will be a tough match, but it is our aim to play in the quarter-final of the FA Cup.
“As you know, it was just the first game for Javi last game [against Southampton],” he added. "It's difficult to predict the way they are going to be, if they are going to change many players or not.
“I think even for them it's difficult to predict the type of players, or number of players they are going to change. But they are always going to be Leeds and probably even in a better mood, more confident after the massive win for them last Saturday.”
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