The Whites progressed to this stage of the competition by overcoming Championship side Cardiff City at the second time of asking, which is exactly what Accrington had to do when faced with National League Boreham Wood.
League One struggles Accrington’s 1-0 win in midweek set up the visit of Premier League Leeds at The Wham Stadium and the first ever FA Cup meeting between the sides.
Accrington chairman Andy Holt told the YEP this week that the draw was a dream come true for the whole town and the revenue, including TV cash, would represent around 10 per cent of their annual turnover. But they’ll be in no mood to take the cash and settle for defeat.
He said: “John [Coleman, Accrington boss] wants to win every game, I want to win every game but realistically it's going to be a very tough ask. I don't want him to beat himself up too much like he does when we don't win, he's been doing a bit too much of that. I hope he can enjoy Saturday but knowing him like I do he'll be out to try and pull off an upset.”
Leeds manager Jesse Marsch was present to see Accrington book their place in the fourth round and reiterated the seriousness with which the club are treating the competition this season, in Friday’s press conference.
"You know, we've we've gotten the chance to push in this in this tournament and we want to take it totally seriously and make sure in every way that we put our best foot forward,” he said, after revealing that Rutter is in with a chance of a start and a Leeds debut.
Marsch is expected to go strong, while still making a number of changes to give returning first team players like Luis Sinisterra and fringe options like Junior Firpo valuable minutes, so here’s the YEP’s predicted line-up.
1. Illan Meslier
The goalkeeper has been in solid form this season and Marsch has used him in every competition, albeit not quite every game. In the FA Cup he played when available and so he's likely to start again at Accrington. Photo: OLI SCARFF
2. Rasmus Kristensen
The Dane has lost the right-back spot to Luke Ayling but in the knowledge that he needs match minutes to keep pushing his positional rival, it feels likely that Marsch puts him in against Accrington as he did in both games against Cardiff. Photo: Michael Regan
3. Junior Firpo
Another man whose minutes are coming mostly via the cup at present. Pascal Struijk seems to be holding down the left-back spot but Firpo did well against Cardiff away from home especially. He needs game time, he'll surely play if fit and available. Photo: David Rogers
4. Diego Llorente
This is a debateable one. Do you stick with the Wober and Koch combination that did so well against Brentford or give Llorente, who signed a long-term deal recently, some much-needed minutes? Llorente probably gets the nod to give Koch a rest ahead of a difficult few weeks ahead. Photo: Alex Pantling
5. Max Wober
A player Marsch evidently trusts. Liam Cooper is in contention for this game but with a slight knock, there seems little sense in risking him. Wober has played well since his arrival and another outing feels probable. Photo: OLI SCARFF
6. Marc Roca
With Tyler Adams an injury doubt, expect Marc Roca to be the leader in the midfield. He's the one Marsch will ask to dictate play and Leeds will need a calm head in there. Photo: PAUL ELLIS