Leeds United boss Daniel Farke drops team selection hint for key role in Chelsea FA Cup semi-final

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says he has a 'quite easy' decision on who starts between the posts in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Karl Darlow supplanted summer signing Lucas Perri as the club's first choice goalkeeper in the Premier League in January after a pair of high profile errors from the Brazilian.

Daniel Farke spoke publicly on both incidents, making it clear he felt Perri's decision making and reactions were not what he expected in the games against Manchester United and Newcastle United. After that Darlow came into the side for the FA Cup tie at Derby County and retained his place for the league games that followed.

Farke has since used Perri in the FA Cup and his contribution has been incredibly significant. A pair of penalty saves in the victory at Birmingham City were followed by a deserved clean sheet against Norwich City and then another two spot-kick saves in the quarter-final at West Ham United.

While Perri's role in Leeds' progression to the semi-finals cannot be doubted, Darlow's recent form in the league has been vital. In midweek the Wales international shone again, producing a sublime foot save at a key point in the game and impressing with his overall performance.

Farke would not state for the record who will start on Sunday but he left little to the imagination with his explanation.

“You could guess pretty good what I'll do this weekend”

"It's quite easy," he said. "I won't speak about the starting line-up before my players know. But if you analyse what we've done in the cup and during the season you could guess pretty good what I'll do this weekend.

“Karl has been fantastic for us on Premier League level, a key player and big factor in why we haven't conceded too many. Lucas has been fantastic in the FA Cup, played a crucial role to reach this semi-final.

“I'm pretty happy with the contribution of my keepers, along with Alex Cairns and Illan Meslier, how tight they are. I think it's a sign and a role model of what we are also as a whole group. I'm pretty delighted with the performance of my goalkeepers in recent months."