In one of the all-Premier League ties of the FA Cup third round, West Ham United welcome Leeds United to the London Stadium on Sunday.
The two sides are separated by 15 points in the Premier League table, with fifth-place West Ham leading sixteenth-place Leeds.
Limbs. AOTS.⏮ The last time we faced this weekend's #FACup opponents... pic.twitter.com/Zl7hZ5b4C3— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 5, 2022
Limbs. AOTS.⏮ The last time we faced this weekend's #FACup opponents... pic.twitter.com/Zl7hZ5b4C3
It goes without saying that David Moyes’ side are enjoying a far better season than Leeds. But can Marcelo Bielsa’s boys cause an FA Cup upset this weekend?
The Hammers head into Sunday’s clash on the back of two consecutive victories in the Premier League. After thrashing Watford 4-1, they beat Crystal Palace 3-2 on New Year’s Day.
Moyes’ men have scored a combined total of nine goals across their past three outings, suggesting that they won’t struggle to hit the target on Sunday.
West Ham were knocked out of the EFL Cup just before Christmas, going down to Tottenham. However, they remain in the Europea League following an impressive group-stage campaign.
It is worth pointing out that West Ham have kept a clean sheet after 90 minutes in each of their previous three FA Cup games.
On the flip side, Leeds come into this one on the back of a much-needed 3-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League.
Bielsa’s side suffered three straight losses in the lead-up to Christmas, so they will be mightily relieved that they managed to return to winning ways last time out.
Still, there is no hiding from the fact that Leeds have only managed to win one of their previous five Premier League outings.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Yorkshire club have won just five of their 22 matches across all competitions this season.
Head-to-head: West Ham beat Leeds 2-1 at Elland Road back in September, securing their third straight win over Bielsa’s side in the process.
Leeds have only managed to win one of their last seven meetings with West Ham in all competitions, failing to win any of the previous five.
Team news: West Ham will be without the injured defensive trio of Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell on Sunday.
As for Leeds, they are missing Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Jamie Shackleton, Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Pascal Struijk and Charlie Cresswell due to injury.
Given the 15-point gulf between these two sides in the Premier League table, West Ham should cruise to a comfortable win on Sunday.
Forebet predicts that West Ham will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory, keeping a clean sheet in the process.