Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has admitted that his side's upcoming FA Cup quarter-final could distract his players from their Premier League meeting with Liverpool on Sunday.
The Eagles have plummeted down to 15th in the Premier League table following an 11-match winless streak, during which they have picked up just four points from the last 33 on offer.
Their progress in the FA Cup has been more positive, however, and they will take on Championship side Reading on Friday looking to book their place in a Wembley semi-final.
"The Cup becomes a factor, it does. It becomes a slight thing in the background that's bubbling along. You don't talk about it too much, you hear it mentioned now and again. It's kind of there, you can't get away from it," he told reporters.
"Whether it affects you, I'd have to be a psychologist to work that out, perhaps in a way it does. Is it going to affect our performance on Sunday, are we less determined to win it? I don't think so, not with where we are right now.
"We all know we need to find a way to win a game and we want it on Sunday."
Palace are unbeaten in their last four league meetings with Liverpool, winning each of their last three.
Barney Corkhill
