West Ham vs Leeds LIVE: FA Cup result, final score and reaction plus Tottenham and Liverpool scores
Follow all the reaction from the all-Premier League clash at the London Stadium, plus scores from the rest of the third round fixtures
Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen piled more FA Cup misery on Leeds as West Ham marched into the fourth round.
Lanzini’s first-half goal and Bowen’s late strike secured a 2-0 win for David Moyes’ side and condemned Leeds to a ninth third-round defeat in the last 12 seasons.
It is now five years since the Whites have won an FA Cup match, and they rarely looked like bucking that sorry trend in a one-sided London Stadium encounter.
West Ham vs Leeds: Recent results
After five games, across all competitions, without a win West Ham turned around their stuttering form with consecutive away victories over Watford (1-4) and Crystal Palace (2-3) in the Premier League. Manager David Moyes has spoken about the Hammers going on a good run in the FA Cup so expect a relatively strong team to line-up against Leeds today as he looks to continue West Ham’s winning run.
Leeds bounced back from three consecutive Premier League defeats - to Chelsea (3-2), Manchester City (7-0) and Arsenal (1-4) - to inflict a confident and composed 3-1 defeat on Burnley in their last match. The win was a much needed victory for Marcelo Bielsa’s team who have earned a little breathing room above Premier League drop zone. Winning creates momentum and Leeds will want that to continue into today’s FA Cup clash with fellow Premier League side West Ham.
Why the FA Cup third round has never been more important
There are few feelings like it in football. That is something that became achingly apparent at clubs like Marine and Chorley last season. The restrictions necessary for Covid denied them the spirit of life that comes with a big FA Cup tie involving a smaller club.
The events of the past two years should help to restore a sparkle to the competition, and especially this most compelling of rounds. That doesn’t just apply to the pandemic. There’s also the Super League, controversial takeovers, and so many other stories that foster the feeling the elite game is just getting away from us, going to some super deluxe level cordoned off and separated from the rest of the game.
The FA Cup third round now, more than ever before, is the great riposte to this. It is the intoxicating antidote. It has actually never been more important, for the game as a whole.
Why the FA Cup third round has never been more important
The third round is an intoxicating antidote to disparity of the modern game, bringing football’s elite back down to earth and to some mucky pitches
West Ham vs Leeds: Moyes on FA Cup run
West Ham boss David Moyes is hoping for a good run in the FA Cup this season and believes he has a squad that can challenge for the trophy.
Speaking ahead of toady’s cup match with Leeds, Moyes emphasised the juggling act between selecting strong teams for cup games without sacrificing any momentum in the Premier League and has backed Nikola Vlašić to step up in the absence of some of the more senior players.
Moyes said:
I’d love to have a good run in the cup, I want to do well in the Europa League as well, but also our league position last year gave us the chance in the Europa League, so you don’t want to give up your Premier League games very easily if you want to challenge the top teams.
“The balance of the whole thing is difficult to get right, but we’ll attempt to do that and try to put a really good team out against Leeds United.
“I think we’ve got a team that given the right draw, given the right moment, could easily go and challenge anybody for the FA Cup. Overall, we’ve got to get through the first tie, which we all know is a tough tie in the third round.
“Niksi [Vlasic] will have opportunities and we’re trying to break him in. He’s beginning to show some good signs so let’s hope he can step up when he gets the opportunity. I do see opportunities for him with Saïd [Benrahma] away.”
West Ham vs Leeds: Injuries and absentees
Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell are all sidelined with injuries causing a dent in West Ham’s defence and forcing manager David Moyes to rely on some of his second stringers. Said Benrahma has travelled to the African Cup of Nations and is unavailable with Pablo Fornals also a dobut after missing a few games.
Leeds’ injury problems continue to mount up. Tyler Roberts and Joe Gelhardt are the latest players to be ruled out and they join Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Pascal Struijk, Rodrigo, Jamie Shackleton and Charlie Cresswell on the sidelines. However, striker Patrick Bamford is fit again and could return to the starting XI.
West Ham vs Leeds
Follow live updates as West Ham host Leeds in the third round of the FA Cup this afternoon. The Hammers have enjoyed a strong season in the cup competitions so far this campaign, defeating both Manchester United and Manchester City as they reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, while also progressing to the knockout stages of the Europa League under David Moyes. Back-to-back Premier League wins over Watford and Brighton have also moved West Ham back inside the Premier League’s top five ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Norwich.
It’s been five years since Leeds last progressed past the third round of the FA Cup, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side losing at this stage in each of the last four seasons. Leeds secured a vital win over Burnley in their last Premier League fixture to ease their relegation concerns and a cup run this season would be fitting on what is the 50th anniversary of their FA Cup winning campaign of 1971-72, which remains the only occasion in which the club have won the competition.
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