Credit: Imago

Samuel Fabre

Sun 8 March 2026 8:10, UK

Leeds United will certainly be optimistic when they face Norwich City at Elland Road in their FA Cup fifth-round clash on Sunday.

The Whites are looking to reach an FA Cup quarter-final for the first time since 2002-03 under Terry Venables.

They’ve been knocked out in the fifth round on four occasions since then, and this is their first home game at this stage of the competition since 1998-99, drawing 1-1 with Spurs before losing a replay 2-0.

Leeds may have lost to Sunderland in midweek, but it’s safe to say that Norwich’s poor record against stronger teams is certainly something to be excited about.

Leeds possess phenomenal recent record vs Norwich

Daniel Farke’s side have been rather impressive at home, although back-to-back defeats have left the German head coach under pressure.

However, he’ll be buoyed by the fact that the Whites have a pretty strong record against the Canaries in recent years.

Leeds have lost two of their last 15 meetings with Norwich in all competitions, on both occasions losing to current manager Farke when he was the Canaries boss in April 2018 and February 2019.

Norwich have been eliminated in each of their last 14 FA Cup ties against top-flight teams while playing outside the top division themselves; they last progressed from one of these ties in the third round of the 1981-82 season, beating Stoke City 1-0.

On the other hand, Leeds have progressed from each of their last six FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, since losing 3-0 to Crawley in January 2021.

As a Premier League side, the Whites have won eight of their last nine games at Elland Road against lower-league sides, losing 1-0 to Wolves in March 1998 in the other.

Farke will definitely be hopeful that he can get the better of his old side once again, but he’ll have to watch on from the stands.

Who is in the dugout to replace Daniel Farke for Leeds vs Norwich?

Farke was sent off in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Man City, and he was given a one-match touchline ban for his antics after the match.

After storming on the pitch to confront referee Peter Bankes after the full-time whistle for a series of poor decisions, he was dismissed and received an £8,000 fine on top of his suspension.

As a result, assistant boss Eddie Riemer will be the leading voice in the dugout for Leeds’ FA Cup tie against Norwich.

The 41-year-old was Farke’s assistant manager at Norwich and Borussia Monchengladbach, so the team will hardly be affected by the change.

What Leeds’ players must focus on is the possibility of qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time in 23 years, which would be an extremely special achievement.