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Why FA Cup matches are midweek with Fulham vs Leeds United fifth round fixture

  /  autty

FA Cup fifth round fixtures are being played midweek in a change from the competition's tradition with Fulham vs Leeds United among the ties.

Fulham host Leeds United at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night, with Marco Silva's side hoping to use their security in the Premier League to mount a FA Cup run.

Having all-but secured their safety, hitting 39 points with 13 matches left to play, the Whites will be aiming to beat Javi Gracia's Leeds who remain mired in the relegation dogfight. The FA Cup fifth-round tie takes place in a surprise midweek slot, with the match at Craven Cottage kicking off at 7:45pm on Tuesday.

The fifth-round stage has become unofficially recognised as the latter stages of the competition since 2018/19, with the scrapping of replays. Then, with the fixture congestion bought about by the introduction of a winter break in the 2019/20 season, midweek matches became the norm in the fifth round and has nothing to do with the World Cup this campaign.

The quarter finals will return to being played at the weekend, with the final at the start of June being played in thee traditional Saturday 3pm slot.

Related: FulhamLeeds United