FA Cup | Fifth Round

Mar 1, 2025 at 12.15pm UK

Selhurst Park

Crystal Palace vs Millwall

Match preview

With FA Cup glory clearly a realistic goal for this Crystal Palace side, Eagles boss Oliver Glasner has not shied away from taking on lower league opposition, and his reward has been two wins and two clean sheets en route to the last 16.

Palace have yet to break down either Stockport County or Doncaster Rovers, but Glasner's men looked professional against the latter on 10 February, when goals from Daniel Munoz and Justin Devenny secured a comfortable 2-0 win.

Saturday's tie will be only Palace's second fifth round appearance in the last six seasons, but the historical omens favour the hosts, who have won each of their last three FA Cup games at this stage since being knocked out by Liverpool 10 years ago.

The 2021-22 semi-finalists have every reason to be confident of avoiding that fate this time around, however, as their 4-1 demolition of Champions League rivals Aston Villa was their fourth win in their last five games and eighth in their last 11.

The ascendant Eagles are also rarely beaten by non-Premier League sides, having lost just one of their last 10 FA Cup matches against lower-division sides, suffering a shock third-round defeat to Derby County in the 2019-20 edition.

Famous finalists in 2004, when they were beaten by a Manchester United side featuring a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo, Millwall have only progressed beyond the fifth round of the FA Cup three times since that 3-0 defeat to the Red Devils at the Millennium Stadium.

However, even getting beyond the third round represented Millwall's best run in the competition for four years, and the Lions are now just 90 minutes away from their first quarter-final appearance since the pre-Covid days of 2018-19.

Alex Neil's side benefited from Leeds making several changes for the fourth-round clash as the Whites prioritise their Premier League promotion push, allowing Femi Azeez to score a brace to send the Lions through at Elland Road, although that result came just four days before a humiliating 5-1 Championship defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

Millwall have since steadied their ship in the second tier, drawing 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End before beating Derby 1-0 on 22 February, with Josh Coburn the hero in the fifth minute of added time.

However, their last FA Cup win away to a top-flight side - a 2-0 thrashing of Arsenal in 1995 - took the visitors back 30 years, and a third-round meeting with Crystal Palace in 2021-22 ended in a 2-1 triumph for the Michael Olise-inspired Eagles.

Recent Performance

Crystal Palace FA Cup form:WW

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):LWWLWW

Millwall FA Cup form:WW

Millwall form (all competitions):WWLDDW

Team News

The only negative from Palace's demolition of Villa was that stand-in captain Marc Guehi picked up a minor knee injury, although Glasner does not believe it will affect his availability for the visit of Millwall.

That is more than can be said for long-term knee victims Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure, while veteran Joel Ward remains out with a calf injury and fellow right-back Caleb Kporha is not in the squad.

Nathaniel Clyne is likely to feature as a makeshift centre-back if Glasner decides not to risk Guehi, while Will Hughes picked up his 10th yellow card of the Premier League season against Villa but will serve his suspension for the upcoming trip to Ipswich Town.

Ex-Lions striker Romain Esse also faces a possible reunion with his old club on Saturday, but the 19-year-old should start on the bench as Ismaila Sarr and Eberechi Eze support the centre-forward, possibly Eddie Nketiah after the former Arsenal man finally opened his Premier League account for the season in midweek.

While Esse is in contention to face his former employers, Millwall are without three cup-tied players in striker Aaron Connolly, centre-back Tristan Crama and winger Benicio Baker-Boaitey.

Left-back Joe Bryan was forced off against Derby with a cut on his foot, but Neil is confident his problem is minor, and there is also hope that Ra'ees Bangura-Williams will return after missing out against Derby.

However, Ryan Leonard, Calum Scanlon and Dan McNamara are long-term absentees through injury, while Macaulay Langstaff, Duncan Watmore and Zak Lovelace are also unlikely to make the squad.

Possible starting lineup

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Turner; Guehi, Lacroix, Richards; Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell; Eze, Sarr; Nketiah

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Roberts; Harding, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan; Saville, De Norre; Neghli, Cundle, Azeez; Coburn