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Leeds v. Spurs Preview
Leeds v. Spurs Preview
Saturday, 26th Jan 2013 18:56 by Tim Whelan

Neil Warnock seems well up for tomorrow’s game with Tottenham Hotspur, so let’s hope he can inspire his team to perform better than their recent efforts in the league.

The official site may claim that “confidence will be high among the players” after winning the last two games, but the fans who were at the Bristol City game know that it was it a very nervous performance against the side at the bottom of the table. But the manager is putting a brave face on it, at least on the official site.

"I don't think many people gave us much of a chance to get through against Birmingham. This is the bonus and we want to make a good game of it. The players did well to get through that one after the debacle at Barnsley, and this is their reward. With no points at stake I think its one that we can enjoy. Sunday will be a great game for the FA Cup and it's a great game for our club and supporters."

But given the standard of the opposition he knows that we need the backing of a big home crowd if we are to stand any chance in this tie. "You don't really see much of a weakness in their side, they've got some excellent players. It's our home match and we've got to try and put on a performance and give them a game. I think that we don't need motivating for games like this in the cup."

Warnock has virtually a full squad to choose from, with the exception of long-term injury casualty Adam Drury and Ross Barkley, as his parent club Everton have denied the young midfielder permission to play. But the big selection dilemma is whether to play Luciano Becchio after the Argentinian’s transfer request. Though the official site has declared he is available for selection, Warnock must be tempted to leave him out and start the game with McCormack and Diouf together up front.

Our visitors are certainly under no illusion that Leeds will be up for the occasion and they will have to be at their best to beat us. Their captain Michael Dawson told the Spurs official site they will have to start the game well "away from home at Elland Road, I’m sure we’ll have to weather a storm in the first 15 minutes and then hopefully our quality will come through."

And Dawson suggested that they won’t take the competition lightly and will be fielding their strongest available side. "The FA Cup is a special competition. We want to win trophies, as players and as a team. To win the FA Cup would certainly be special, but that's a long way off. Every player will say the same as me, the FA Cup is massive for us, we want to go all the way and it would be a dream come true to do that."

Tottenham will be without Sandro who has ligament damage and Younes Kaboul, who has a knee problem, but could be able to recall William Gallas. Gallas is back in training and might be able to play for the first time since he picked up a calf injury Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

So can we do against Spurs? This glamour cup tie has come as a welcome distraction from our current problems as we endure yet another disappointing transfer window, and for the moment we can enjoy the media attention and the national TV coverage. But this could be the last big occasion in a season that might well fade into the anti-climax of mid-table obscurity after tomorrow.

My heart says we can beat them, but my head says that they have too much quality for our depleted squad and that Tottenham will be the ones going through to the fifth round.

Photo: Action Images



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