Preview: West Ham United vs Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sunday's solitary FA Cup fixture pits West Ham United and Leeds United against one another, as the quarter-finals draw to a close at the London Stadium.

The Irons bested capital counterparts Brentford on penalties to earn their ticket to the last eight, while the Whites eased past Norwich City 3-0 to move 90 minutes away from Wembley.

Match preview

Not for the first time at the London Stadium, West Ham benefitted from a pathetic panenka attempt to overcome a near neighbour, as Dango Ouattara channelled his inner Ademola Lookman to send Brentford crashing out of the FA Cup.

Twice the Hammers went ahead through Jarrod Bowen, and twice the visitors clawed their way back into the contest thanks to Igor Thiago, but while Ouattara made the silliest spot-kick gaffe possible, Nuno Espirito Santo's men registered a 100% success rate from five penalties.

A first FA Cup quarter-final in 10 years now awaits West Ham, who last reached this stage in the 2015-16 season - losing to eventual winners Manchester United in a replay - but not since reaching the 2006 final two decades ago have the Irons progressed to the semis.

The frenetic fight for Premier League survival takes precedence for West Ham while they languish in the relegation zone, however, as they have taken just one point from a possible six since eliminating Brentford from the cup, holding Manchester City to a creditable 1-1 draw before a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa.

The aforementioned stalemate with Man City did extend West Ham's praiseworthy unbeaten home run to six games in all tournaments, though they have kept just the one clean sheet at the London Stadium - against Bournemouth - all season long.

The Daniel Farke derby took centre stage at Elland Road during the fifth round of the FA Cup, where the German's current side Leeds strolled past his former club Norwich, courtesy of strikes from Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Joel Piroe.

Champions of the FA Cup only once in their history - back in 1972 - Leeds have ended an even longer quarter-final exile, last appearing at this stage of the tournament in 2003 when they were edged out 1-0 by Sheffield United.

However, Leeds forgot to bring their FA Cup shooting boots back to the Premier League with them, as Farke's men have since played out back-to-back goalless draws with Crystal Palace and Brentford, leaving them without a goal in four top-flight games.

Farke's men hold just a four-point lead over 18th-placed West Ham in the lower echelons of the table as a result, although resilience on the road has been a recent theme for Leeds, who are unbeaten in six straight away games and have lost just one of their last 10.

The Whites also overcame West Ham 2-1 when Santo's side visited Elland Road in October, but three of their last four trips to the Irons' turf have ended in defeat; they have conceded at least twice in every one of those contests too.

West Ham United FA Cup form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Leeds United FA Cup form:

Leeds United form (all competitions):

Team News

West Ham will have to lock horns with Leeds without the services of ex-Whites winger Crysencio Summerville, who is set to miss out on a reunion with his erstwhile employers while he recovers from a calf injury.

Defender Jean-Clair Todibo is on the touch-and-go list for the same reason, while veteran shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski is still struggling with a back problem and has no fixed return date.

Kyle Walker-Peters, Taty Castellanos, Soungoutou Magassa, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tomas Soucek would all miss any potential semi-final if they are yellow-carded on Sunday, but only latter three may still be named in the hosts' starting XI.

Speaking of suspensions, Leeds left-back Gudmundsson is back from his own Premier League ban this weekend, and the Sweden international is also expected to shake off a small knock to the knee he sustained while helping his country qualify for the World Cup.

Gudmundsson was one of two scares for Leeds over the international break, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin withdrew from England duty with a hamstring strain, and Farke could not guarantee his availability for Sunday.

Fellow attacker Noah Okafor made his return from a hamstring problem against Brentford but was omitted from the Switzerland squad as a precautionary measure; there are no huge concerns about his condition, however.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Disasi, Diouf; Soucek, Magassa, Fernandes; Bowen, Wilson, Traore

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Perri; Struijk, Bijol, Rodon; Bogle, Stach, Longstaff, Ampadu, Justin; Aaronson, Nmecha

We say: West Ham United 2-1 Leeds United

No Calvert-Lewin could mean no party for Leeds, especially with Okafor also still working his way back to full fitness, and the potential absence of the ex-Everton striker may prove fatal.

The Whites' away form still makes for splendid reading, but a West Ham side who have rediscovered their London Stadium steel have our backing to march to Wembley.

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