Sat 10 Jan - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 3mins
Derby County Head Coach John Eustace says it will be a ‘really special occasion’ when his side host Leeds United in the Third Round of the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday (12pm kick-off).
The Rams’ boss highlighted a history of entertaining meetings between the two sides, describing the fixture as ‘iconic’ in his pre-match assessment ahead of this weekend’s game at Pride Park Stadium.
Sunday’s match will be the first FA Cup tie the two have contested in 30 years, offering the potential to add another entry to a catalogue of classics – one which featured a host of fiercely-fought clashes in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as a modern classic in Derby’s famous 4-2 victory at Elland Road in the 2018/19 Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-finals second leg.
Speaking to RamsTV, Eustace spoke of the fixture’s heritage, his love of the FA Cup, and how he plans to utilise his squad.
The FA Cup is the biggest cup competition in the world. It's what English football is all about and the Third Round is always a special day for all clubs involved. It's a tie that we're all looking forward to.
It's an iconic game. Leeds have a great history, and there’s incredible history between the two teams as well. It should be a really special occasion.
We love playing at home and I know our fans will be right behind the boys.
Leeds are an exceptional team with a fantastic manager. They were the best team in the Championship last year and they're doing great in the Premier League now.
They've invested to add to a really strong squad. We know we're up against a top team but going toe-to-toe with them is a challenge that we're all looking forward to.
Obviously, it's given us a bit of time to give some rest to two or three players that desperately needed it after a very tough period of games. The boys have still worked hard for the last couple of days, so it's been a good week up to now.
They certainly had a bit of fun with the snowballs, but the same level of professionalism was there and we managed to get enough work in, which I was happy with.
There are players who need games. It would be great to try and give Oscar [Fraulo] some minutes and see what he's all about. He's come in for the last 10 days and he's trained very well; he's certainly ahead of schedule. It would be great to see him perform at some point.
We've also got David Ozoh, Lewis Travis and people like that coming back from injury. So, it certainly gives us a chance to give vital minutes to some players.
