Hudson hoping to turn back time as Leeds visit Cardiff

As soon as this tie was drawn, memories flew back to a memorable clash between these rivals in 2002.

Leeds United came to Cardiff for a cup tie as top team in the Premier League but, in a white hot atmosphere at the old Ninian Park, came unstuck against a Cardiff City team playing in the third tier at the time. Local hero Scott Young grabbed the winner that day.

Another exciting clash is anticipated this weekend. Leeds will be backed by around 6,000 fans at the Cardiff City Stadium. Cardiff boss Mark Hudson faces a tough afternoon.

Both clubs have suffered injuries and we may some fresh faces given an outing.

Cardiff striker Kion Etete continues to recover from a slight hamstring strain and is unlikely to be seen against Leeds.

Callum Robinson is also ill and probably will not feature either. Illness has also cast a doubt over Gavin Whyte and Cédric Kipré.

But the Bluebirds have  players who are desperate to play. What an opportunity to showcase themselves against a Premier League team.

Leeds United have four first-team players ruled out of the FA Cup clash as Jesse Marsch has shared his team news.

Patrick Bamford is only recently back in training while Adam Forshaw and Luis Sinisterra are expected to be in training next week.

Stuart Dallas has also undergone another operation to clean things up and he is not available for the game either.

There will be plenty to interest Prost’s American audience as Leeds United’s manager is American Jesse Marsch, who replaced Marcelo Bielsa as head coach in February 2022.

Marsch became just the third American to manage in the Premier League, after Bob Bradley and German-born David Wagner.

He began his managerial career in the USA with Montreal Impact and New York Red Bulls, before making the move to Austria to take the hot seat at Red Bull Salzburg.

It was with Die Roten Bullen that Marsch caught the eye, winning the Austrian Bundesliga and the Austrian Cup on two occasions.

Salzburg’s talented side under Marsch included the likes of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, former Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino and Hungarian playmaker Dominik Szoboszlai, the latter following the American to his next role at German club RB Leipzig.

After mutually agreeing to leave Leipzig, Marsch joined Leeds United just two months later and guided them to Premier League safety at the end of last season.

Cardiff have been struggling to find the net since the World Cup and it will be a big ask to lower the colours of Leeds again. But with memories of 2002 filling the air, who knows what the magic of the cup could bring.

 

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