Leeds United are all too familiar with giant killings in the FA Cup and face the possibility of another this weekend

Over the years, Leeds United have been involved in a number of giant killings in the FA Cup – on both ends of the spectrum causing massive upsets but also being on receiving end of some really surprising results and they could face another tough test of their metal this weekend.

This is all because they travel to West Sussex to face high flying Crawley Town of League Two on Sunday in the Third Round of the FA Cup.

The Red Devils have already won twice in the competition to the set the tie against Leeds up, beating Torquay United 6-5 after extra-time in the First Round, before seeing off League One AFC Wimbledon in the Round Two of the competition to cause an upset.

As for Leeds, this will be their first clash in this season’s edition of the competition due to them being in the Premier League as both of the top two divisions don’t enter the draw until the Third Round.

Leeds have suffered a number of shock defeats in the past and it’s something they will be keen to avoid this weekend, but in January 2010 they secured one of the biggest shocks in the recent history of the competition, beating fierce rivals Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.

At that time, Simon Grayson’s side were in League One and 42 places were between the two teams in the football pyramid, but that didn’t stop the Whites as they secured a famous victory thanks to Jermaine Beckford’s 19th-minute strike.

Looking back at that game, Grayson’s team could have won by more but they more than satisfied their supporters, making it through to the Fourth Round in the process.

Despite that glorious victory for Leeds, they have also suffered a number of massive FA Cup shocks, one of these came all the way back in 1971 when they suffered a 3-2 defeat to fourth division Colchester United, what makes this result all the more remarkable is that the Whites were in the First Division at the time, boasting the likes of Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter but couldn’t stop the U’s causing an upset.

Colchester took a 2-0 lead with less than half an hour on the clock and then made it three not long after the break, the visitors who had ten internationals in their line ups got two goals back but it proved to be all too little too late in one of the biggest shocks in the competition.

In more recent times, the Yorkshire club suffered a major surprise in the competition as they were beaten 1-0 by National League side Sutton United who thoroughly deserved their victory on the day, dominating the game from start to finish in what you would say is a unique shock with the underdog usually being under the pump for much of the game but this proved to not be the case.

Sutton were rewarded by hosting Premier League giants Arsenal in the next round, they ultimately lost 2-0, but have a huge part of history to look back on in future years.

Finally, perhaps the biggest shock of all for the Whites came in 2008 when they were seen off 1-0 by Non-League Histon as postman Matthew Langston netted from a corner just before the break.

Leeds pushed for a leveller but didn’t have enough as the Stutes earned a home tie with Swansea City in the next round.

While many of these examples were when Leeds were further down the leagues, it does show that Marcelo Bielsa’s side will have to be careful despite there being 57 places between the two sides in the football pyramid and Crawley are in-form having not tasted defeat in nine matches.

Due to the busy nature of the season and way in which the Yorkshire club play, you would imagine that there will be a number of changes for this clash, in the hope that they can secure their passage through to the Fourth Round for the first time since 2017.

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