Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Leeds United - prediction, team news, lineups

A trip to Premier League territory awaits the victor of the midweek battle, as either Chelsea or Aston Villa will be lying in wait for a fifth-round showdown.

Match preview

Just past the half-hour mark at Elland Road on January 27, Leeds winger Jaidon Anthony scored a goal worthy of winning any FA Cup tie; cutting inside from the left, evading futile Plymouth challenges and curling home with panache before paying an emotional tribute to his late mother.

Ian Foster's side still had one more trick up their sleeve, though, as with 17 minutes of normal time remaining, Mustapha Bundu picked out the run of Adam Randell with a delicate pass, and the midfielder did the rest with a composed finish to dampen the spirits of the Elland Road faithful.

After surviving a couple more scares in their own penalty area, Foster's men departed with a rematch pencilled into their February diaries and with a prime opportunity to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2006-07; they have been dumped out three times in the fourth round since then.

Two such exits came in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons to Sheffield United and Chelsea respectively before an embarrassing first-round loss to Grimsby Town last year, but Plymouth have been building up a head of steam under Foster and made it back-to-back Championship victories during a Swansea City sojourn at the weekend.

Remaining loyal to the Green Army amid frequent speculation of a January move to the Premier League, Morgan Whittaker's 16th Championship goal of the season propelled Plymouth to a 1-0 success - extending their unbeaten run to six matches - and Home Park is certainly where the heart is for Tuesday's hosts.

Without defeat on their own turf since coincidentally going down 3-1 to Swansea on October 7, Plymouth have remarkably scored at least two goals in each of their last nine matches at Home Park - including three in each of their last five - so Leeds may live to regret their wasted chances two weekends ago.

However, failure to see off Foster's side represents the only blot on the Whites' 2024 notebook so far, as each of the visitors' other six matches since the turn of the year have ended in victory, including Saturday's taxing Championship affair with Bristol City.

Emulating Plymouth with a 1-0 away success, a solitary Wilfried Gnonto strike was all it took for Daniel Farke's men to make it five Championship wins on the bounce, keeping the third-placed Whites within just a point of second-placed Southampton, albeit having played a game more.

Shutting out the Robins also saw the resilient Whites record their fifth clean sheet from their golden seven-match sequence - in which Randell's Elland Road equaliser is just one of two goals they have conceded - and they have been eliminated from just one of their last four FA Cup fourth-round ties.

Furthermore, Leeds head to Home Park with a 10-game unbeaten run to protect against Plymouth - whose last win in this fixture came all the way back in the 1988-89 season - although Tuesday's replay will represent the first showdown on Argyle's turf since November 2006.

Plymouth Argyle FA Cup form:

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D

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

D

W

D

W

D

W

Leeds United FA Cup form:

W

D

Leeds United form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

D

W

Team News

Since leaving Elland Road with their heads held high, Plymouth Argyle have added teenage left-back Lino Sousa to their ranks from Aston Villa - who poached him from Arsenal before loaning him to Home Park - but as the 19-year-old was not registered to Plymouth for the original tie, he is unavailable for Tuesday's game.

Fellow January arrival Darko Gyabi will also be absent again on account of being unable to face his parent club, while Tottenham Hotspur-owned Alfie Devine is cup-tied, having turned out for Port Vale earlier in the competition.

Goalscorer Randell and Callum Wright should step in for the ineligible duo on Tuesday, but Foster and co welcome Leeds to their headquarters bereft of any fitness concerns.

In contrast, Leeds still have a trio of defensive injury victims to work around for the midweek replay, as Stuart Dallas (hip), Pascal Struijk (groin) and Karl Darlow (finger) are all in the infirmary at the time of writing.

One rearguard boost has arrived in the shape of Burnley loanee Connor Roberts, but for the same reason as Sousa, the Welshman also cannot take part in the replay. However, Jamie Shackleton and Sam Byram are available to freshen the team up in the full-back positions.

Anthony was only brought on for the dying embers of the Bristol City win, but the Bournemouth loanee ought to demote Crysencio Summerville to the bench at Home Park, where Patrick Bamford's spot in the attack is also under threat from Joel Piroe.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Galloway, Phillips, Gibson; Mumba, Randell, Roberts, Miller; Whittaker, Wright; Hardie

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Meslier; Shackleton, Ampadu, Rodon, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara; Gnonto, Rutter, Anthony; Piroe

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Leeds United (a.e.t, Plymouth to win on penalties)

A Plymouth side with a taste for goals at home coming up against the dogged defensive unit of Leeds will make for a fascinating watch, and with the Home Park crowd willing them on, Argyle's attacking ruthlessness should come to the fore.

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