The penultimate fixture of the FA Cup fourth round, Crystal Palace head to the Keepmoat Stadium on Monday, when League Two outfit Doncaster Rovers aim to claim a memorable scalp.
The Eagles needed just the one goal to send Stockport County packing in the third round of the competition, whereas their fourth-tier hosts stunned Hull City on penalties after a bad-tempered affair.
Match preview
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Continuing his theme of going strong in the knockout competitions - as he did during Crystal Palace's EFL Cup run - Oliver Glasner put out a powerful XI for the third-round tie with Stockport County, making the 1-0 scoreline somewhat underwhelming.
Nevertheless, Eberechi Eze's fourth-minute effort was enough to send the Eagles flying into round four, thus ensuring that the London outfit avoided a third successive third-round elimination from the prestigious competition, having fallen to Everton and Southampton at that point over the past two campaigns.
In fact, the one time that Crystal Palace managed to advance beyond the third round in the past five seasons, they made it all the way to the semi-finals before being sent packing by Chelsea, offering hope of another rare Wembley outing for a side without a single FA Cup honour to their name.
Bidding to beat a lower-league team in the competition for the 12th time in a row - last losing such a game in 1978 against Hartlepool United - Palace have started the new year as they mean to go on, registering their fourth win from five in last weekend's memorable 2-0 beating of Manchester United.
Two-goal hero Jean-Philippe Mateta taught Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee - two players who cost significantly more than him - a ruthless lesson in centre-forward play at Old Trafford, as the Eagles marched to their third straight 2-0 win on the road, where they have not conceded once since December 18.
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Returning to his former stomping ground after three years in the Hull City chair, Doncaster Rovers head coach Grant McCann - who took charge of the Tigers from 2019 to 2022 - masterminded one of the shocks of the FA Cup third round against his erstwhile club on January 12.
Following a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes - where no fewer than seven Doncaster players entered the referee's book - McCann's men incredibly clawed back a 5-3 penalty deficit, as Mason Burstow's miss and Teddy Sharman-Lowe's save from Alfie Jones came either side of successful spot kicks from Luke Molyneux and Harry Clifton.
That dramatic shootout success was unsurprisingly the catalyst for an uplifting winning run for Monday's hosts, who won their subsequent four fixtures in League Two to cement their place in the top three of the table, but they were condemned to a humbling at Chesterfield on Thursday.
Indeed, Doncaster's terrific run was stopped in its tracks by a 5-2 away defeat - their first away loss of 2025 in any competition - but Rovers have at least prevailed in four of their last five home contests, albeit against less revered teams than Crystal Palace.
Monday's matchup will see Doncaster and the Eagles reunite six years on from a 2018-19 fifth-round meeting, where Palace - then under the wing of Roy Hodgson - triumphed 2-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium courtesy of first-half strikes from Max Meyer and Jeffrey Schlupp, the latter of whom has just departed for Celtic on loan.
Team News
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Palace boss Glasner offered Chelsea outcast Ben Chilwell an escape route from Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day, and the Eagles manager has confirmed that the Blues loanee is in line for his Eagles debut against Doncaster, albeit most likely as a substitute.
Glasner is also keeping his fingers crossed that Chris Richards will overcome an illness in time to be available, while the seldom-seen Matheus Franca might be in the squad too, but Eddie Nketiah is a "big question mark" after twisting his ankle in training.
Veteran defender Nathaniel Clyne is in the same boat due to a knock, while Eze (foot), Chadi Riad (knee) and Cheick Doucoure (knee) have all been ruled out of the fourth-round tie.
Meanwhile, Doncaster travelled home from Chesterfield without any new concerns on the injury front, but a change or two might be in order after the manner of that crushing defeat.
Experienced striker Billy Sharp - who celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday - is an alternative option in attack for the hosts, but Joe Ironside's inconsequential effort last time out might be enough to see him keep the former Premier League man at bay.
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Sharman-Lowe; Sterry, McGrath, Olowu, Maxwell; Bailey, Broadbent; Molyneux, Street, Ennis; Ironside
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Turner; Lacroix, Richards, Guehi; Kporha, Hughes, Devenny, Mitchell; Sarr, Esse; Mateta
We say: Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Crystal Palace
Doncaster are under pressure to prove that their midweek mauling at the hands of Chesterfield was just a one-off, but McCann's men have bigger fish to fry than the FA Cup this season.
That is not to say that Rovers will not turn up on the day, but a Palace side who have developed an affinity for away wins and clean sheets should ease into the fifth round with minimal difficulty.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
