Preview: Leeds United vs Norwich City – stats, team news, line-ups

Leeds United will put their Premier League survival battle on hold later this evening as they welcome Norwich City to Elland Road for their FA Cup fifth-round bout.

The Whites are coming into this context on the back of a damaging 1-0 defeat against Sunderland , putting their chances of survival in jeopardy.

While the Whites will welcome this brief respite from the heated relegation battle, Daniel Farke will be keen for his troops to get back to winning ways.

With a place in the quarter final up for grabs, Leeds will fancy their chances of mounting a deep run in this tournament , although Premier League survival will undoubtedly be their primary objective.

Leeds United are chasing a piece of history as they aim to win major silverware for the first time in the 21st century.

Famous for their 1971/72 FA Cup triumph, Leeds are hoping this campaign can provide a long-awaited return to glory. It’s not impossible, but the odds are heavily stacked against them.

To reach the latter stages, Leeds have already overcome two Championship sides, beating Derby County and Birmingham City away from home.

The latter was particularly intense considering the hosts pushed Leeds all the way to a penalty shootout after playing out a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s.

Despite their progress in the FA Cup , Leeds’ recent form has raised a few eyebrows.

Farke’s side arrive at this stage of the competition on the back of consecutive home defeats in the Premier League , losing 1–0 to both Manchester City and Sunderland at Elland Road.

Those results marked the first time since November that the team had suffered back-to-back league losses without scoring.

The dip in form has also left them hovering dangerously close to the relegation battle. Sitting 15th in the table, Leeds now hold only a slim three-point cushion above the bottom three.

Their situation is even more precarious considering Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goalscoring form has dried up, with the English striker enduring a four-game goal drought.

Meanwhile, Norwich are heading into the decisive stretch of the season as one of the most in-form teams in the Championship.

The Canaries are riding the wave of their blistering form, having won nine of their last 11 games across all competitions, although they’re still miles away from the play-off conversation.

Back-to-back 2-0 victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City helped Norwich close February on a high note, but the gap in the league table still looks insurmountable.

Sitting 12 points behind sixth-placed Wrexham, a late push for the play-offs is highly unlikely. While their league challenge has faded, Norwich have been impressive in the FA Cup .

They began their run with a commanding 5-1 victory over Walsall at Carrow Road before beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 to set up an enticing clash with Leeds.

Norwich have also been in fine form away from home. Since a narrow defeat to Watford in early December, they have lost only once in eight away matches (W5, D2).

However, Norwich have not beaten Leeds in their last eight meetings (D2, L6), a run that stretches back to October 2021. They’ll be keen to set the record straight this time around.

Leeds have managed to clear out their medical room over the past few weeks, leaving Noah Okafor as the last man standing due to a hamstring injury.

While he’s the only one Farke has to worry about, Norwich have a much larger injury list on their hands.

The Canaries will be without Jovon Makama, Mohamed Toure, Shane Duffy, Ante Crnac, Mirko Topic, and Manchester United loanee Harry Amass.