Preview: Palace (Away)

When the balls were being drawn for the second round of this season's League Cup there was a certain inevitability about the sort of tie we'd get. Not so much in terms of who we'd be playing, the seeded draw guaranteed us a tie with opposition from a lower division, but in that we'd almost certainly get drawn away, and that Sky would be all over it like a rash, rubbing their knees at the thought of a potential 'banana skin for the billionaires'.

Added to chances of another potential cup embarrassment, after Brighton, Chesterfield, Doncaster and the then League One Wigan in recent seasons, is the permanently hard done by soundbite king Neil Warnock. He'll have his players up for it, i'm sure, despite being very complimentary about us over the course of the last week. He'll have seen those sloppy displays over recent years and would love nothing more than to earn yet a few more column inches by causing an upset.

What sort of game we'll get is anyone's guess. We're not sure if either club will field their strongest sides, both might, understandably, see the competition as secondary to league fixtures. We might well choose to rest players who have had injuries in recent weeks; Kolo Toure, Robinho, Carlos Tevez & Emmanuel Adebayor spring to mind, and Julian Speroni, Paddy McCarthy and Clint Hill are all said to have slight knocks for them.

I'd like to see us put out as strong a team as possible but with Sunday also in mind. Playing Thursday/Sunday can't be easy, particularly with the travelling involved for both trips. I don't expect Kolo Toure to play, and Joleon Lescott & Sylvinho are probably a bit off fitness-wise. Craig Bellamy and Martin Petrov may well come in for Adebayor and Robinho.

Warnock might see this as a good opportunity to put a couple of his better young players further into the shop window. I'm by no means an expert on Palace, but i think they'll go with five in midfield, with Victor Moses and Sean Scannell wide of a three featuring the experienced Sean Derry, former Newcastle man Darren Ambrose and one of either Neil Danns, Nick Carle or Alassane N'Diaye, with Alan Lee leading the line.

If they're passed fit Clint Hill should play left-back, ex-Blue Paddy McCarthy should partner Rui Fonte in the middle of defence, with Danny Butterfield on the right. The biggest question mark for the home side might be in goal, whether they risk number one and Player of the Year Julian Speroni or go with backup Darryl Flahavan.

Palace's start to the season has been mixed, four points from twelve in the league and a win over Torquay at home in the first round of this competition. Without watching them week in, week out i can't really say exactly what sort of a side we'll face, but in the mould of their manager i expect they'll be in our faces and might see a direct approach as their best opportunity of progressing.

It should prove a good test as to how much of the 'typical City' we've put behind us. We don't have a great record at Palace, two wins in our last twelve, but if we stick to what we know, good passing football, and keep the ball in midfield then we should be able to win the game. It will be a stern test, and a good opportunity for players to give the manager food for thought about his strongest line-up for future games. No slip-ups, please!

Possible teams:
Palace: Speroni, Butterfield, Hill, McCarthy, Fonte, Derry, Scannell, Ambrose, N'Diaye, Lee, Moses

City: Given, Zabaleta, Bridge, Richards, Onuoha, de Jong, SWP, Ireland, Bellamy, Tevez, Petrov

Prediction: Palace 1 City 2