Crystal Palace and Stoke City will lock horns in the FA Cup on Tuesday evening, with the two teams battling for a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Eagles have overcome Millwall and Hartlepool United to reach the fifth round of the tournament, while Championship outfit Stoke have beaten Leyton Orient and Wigan Athletic to progress to this stage.
Match preview
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A positive run of form has seen Palace lose just one of their last six matches in all competitions, picking up four points from their last two Premier League matches against Watford and Burnley, which has left them in 11th position in the table.
Patrick Vieira's side recorded a 2-1 victory over Millwall in the third round of this season's FA Cup before beating Hartlepool 2-0 at Selhurst Park at the start of February courtesy of goals from Marc Guehi and Michael Olise.
The Eagles have never won the FA Cup but have reached the final on two previous occasions, including in 2016, when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley, and the London club are certainly dark horses in this season's competition.
Palace have won their last two matches against Stoke, including a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park in November 2017, but the two teams have not locked horns since May 2018, with the Potters currently operating in the second tier of English football.
The hosts will be the favourites to advance to the quarter-finals, but they have only won one of their last five matches at Selhurst Park in all competitions, suffering three defeats in the process.
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Stoke, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's FA Cup contest off the back of a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday, which has left them in 15th position in the Championship table.
Michael O'Neill's side are without a victory in any competition since February 8, drawing two and losing two of their last four matches, but they have been strong in this season's FA Cup, beating Leyton Orient 2-0 at home in the third round on January 9 before overcoming Wigan by the same scoreline in the fourth round on February 5.
The Potters have never won the FA Cup, but they reached the final of the competition in 2011, losing 1-0 to Manchester City, while they have been semi-finalists on three previous occasions.
Stoke are winless in their last four matches away from home in all competitions, with their last success on their travels coming at Hull City in the Championship on January 16.
The Championship club have also been unable to record an away victory in the FA Cup since January 2016, losing three and drawing one of their last four fixtures on the road in this particular competition.
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Team News
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Palace will again be without the services of Nathan Ferguson due to a hamstring problem, while Joel Ward is unlikely to be available for selection due to a groin issue.
Head coach Vieira is expected to make changes from the side that started against Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, with Cheikhou Kouyate, Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard all pushing for spots in the XI.
Martin Kelly could also come into the side at right-back, but Vieira will be desperate to progress in the competition, so three of the team's usual back four could again take to the field.
As for Stoke, Abdallah Sima, Mario Vrancic and Harry Souttar will miss the contest through injury, but the visitors did not suffer any fresh issues against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Head coach O'Neill will make alterations from their last league match, with 21-year-old Josef Bursik set to start between the sticks, while Josh Maja could lead the line.
Tyrese Campbell and D'Margio Wright-Phillips should also be given opportunities to impress in the wide positions, with Jacob Brown among those likely to drop to the bench.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Butland; Kelly, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Milivojevic, Kouyate; Edouard, Benteke, Eze
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Wilmot, Chester, Moore, Tymon; Allen, Thompson; Campbell, Powell, Wright-Phillips; Maja
We say: Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke City
Stoke are more than capable of beating Palace, and we are expecting a close match at Selhurst Park. The Eagles will have a lot of quality in their XI even if Vieira makes a number of changes, though, and we are finding it difficult to back against the home side when it comes to progressing to the final eight.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Crystal Palace win with a probability of 47.81%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 27.31% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Crystal Palace win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.4%) and 2-0 (8.23%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 0-1 (7.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.8%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Crystal Palace in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Crystal Palace.
