Derby County 1 Leeds United 3: Goals and highlights as Gnonto, Tanaka and Justin send Whites into FA Cup fourth round
Leeds United kick off their 2025/26 FA Cup campaign with a trip to Championship outfit Derby County.
Leeds United’s 2025/26 FA Cup campaign gets underway today with the Whites facing Derby County at Pride Park.
Daniel Farke’s side have come through a hectic and difficult Premier League winter schedule eight points clear of the relegation zone with Saturday’s trip down to Derby providing welcome respite. The Leeds boss and his players will be equally desperate to win and progress to the next round and have a good opportunity to do so.
Hosts Derby are currently 13th in the Championship and looking up, rather than down, having lost just two of their last seven league matches. Experienced manager John Eustace regularly caused problems for Farke’s Leeds in recent years and they welcome Premier League opposition to Pride Park with nothing to lose.
Former Rams defender Jayden Bogle isn’t expected to feature this afternoon due to a calf injury, with Farke revealing on Thursday the right-back hadn’t yet returned to full team training. Daniel James (hamstring tendon) is also set to miss out while Sean Longstaff could be back in the squad and involved.
Farke insisted he would set up his side to win this afternoon but admitted Premier League survival is the priority, with those who have played a lot of winter football likely to be rested. Rare chances could be handed to the likes of Willy Gnonto, Joel Piroe and Sam Byram - the latter did report some back problems during the week.
And Leeds will want to avoid a repeat of their short and disappointing Carabao Cup campaign, with a much-rotated side losing on penalties to Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday back in August. The Whites also don’t have a glowing recent FA Cup history, exiting against Millwall in the fourth round last season.
Leeds’ trip to Pride Park has been picked as the early kick-off on Sunday, with the action getting underway at lunchtime. Stay tuned for all your usual build-up, team news, live coverage and reaction.