Chris Sutton makes ‘awkward’ Leeds United admission ahead of game v Millwall
Chris Sutton has admitted that he sees Leeds United’s FA Cup draw against Millwall being a close game.
The Whites welcome the Lions to Elland Road on Saturday (8 February) in the FA Cup fourth round.
Daniel Farke’s side are the better-performing side when it comes to Championship action this term, with 24 points separating the two sides in the table.
Chris Sutton tips Millwall to beat Leeds United
Although Farke’s side are sitting happily at the top of the Championship table, Millwall won’t be ready to be written out of this tie.
The West Yorkshire outfit are now unbeaten in 14 games across all competitions making them look pretty unstoppable at the moment.
However, Millwall come into the tie unbeaten in four games and will no doubt be eager to continue this run of form in the cup.
The two sides have only met once so far this season and it was the London club who came out on top with a 1-0 win at The Den.
Writing on BBC Sport (6 February), Sutton admitted he was struggling to predict this one but tipped Millwall to have the edge.
He said: “This is an awkward one to call because of Leeds’ situation.
“They are five points clear at the top of the Championship after beating Coventry on Wednesday but four teams are going for the two automatic spots. Promotion is their priority, and I think their manager Daniel Farke will make quite a few changes here.
“I don’t agree with that thinking, but I can kind of understand it. I’d love to see Leeds really have a go in the FA Cup but they play Watford in the Championship next Tuesday. Their schedule is relentless, and the financial rewards of going up – or the consequences of missing out – are huge.
“Farke is not the only former Norwich boss involved here – Alex Neil is a pretty shrewd manager who is on a good little run with Millwall and they have just won three games in a row to put themselves on the fringe of the play-off race.
“I had to think quite a lot about this one, but I am going to go with Millwall to cause an upset.
“They have already beaten Leeds this season, at The Den in November, and Leeds have only lost one of their 18 games since.
“But this prediction is based more on the kind of team I am expecting Leeds will put out, because I think Farke is more likely to put out a weakened team than Neil. Prediction: 1-2 after extra time.”
Daniel Farke to push Leeds in the FA Cup?
As Sutton says, you can understand if Farke decided to make some changes to his starting line-up and rest players for his side’s FA Cup tie.
There is a relentless schedule in the Championship and with promotion being the priority this term, the boss will surely want to keep his eyes on that and use this game as an opportunity to give players a rest.
That being said, there is a winning mentality at Elland Road currently and with a big run of victories, surely there is something to be said for building upon the momentum in West Yorkshire and just looking to get another victory under the belt for the season.
On top of this, there is a fierce rivalry between the two sides and supporters will not be keen to come away from this game as losers, even if they can boast a nicer league position currently.
Their opponents have already beaten them once this season and if Millwall were to win this one, it would surely put more pressure on the remaining league fixture later this season.
The boss certainly has some decisions to make when he comes to how he wants to set up but the feeling of Elland Road being a fortress for Leeds cannot be underestimated and the Whites have to be careful not to disrupt their current momentum too much due to worrying about other factors.