January 6 2003

Aki Riihilahti

Aki Riihilahti reckons that Palace will be able to surprise Liverpool in the next round of the FA Cup.

Riihilahti will be coming up against fellow Finn Sami Hyypia in the tie, which is to be played on the 25th/26th January.

Riihilahti believes that Palace are good enough to beat Liverpool, who they famously beat in 1990 to get to the FA Cup Final.

He said: "We have a very good chance to beat them. We are playing at home and I know we will give them a good game.

"We are doing well and beating a team like Liverpool would give us a great boost to our self-confidence and help us go even better in Division One."

Speaking about playing against Hyypia, Riihilahti added: "He and Jari Litmanen helped all our careers because after they were successful abroad, people started to rate Finnish players.

"They did us a big favour. Sami was one of the biggest influences in Finnish football and he's the best player we have now.

"It will be nice to play against him but when the game starts it doesn't matter who you are playing against, and I think we will be able to surprise Liverpool."

In Depth FA Cup 2002/03