Palace v Cardiff City

Selhurst Park, Tuesday 8.00pm

Dougie Freedman

Team news

Palace boss Dougie Freedman faces an anxious phonecall from the club doctor to find out if his players have overcome a virus that has ravaged the squad.

Julian Speroni, Paddy McCarthy, Anthony Gardner, Nathaniel Clyne, Mile Jedinak and Sean Scannell have all been affected. Jon Williams (broken leg) and Alex Marrow (ankle) are still out.

Cardiff defender Kevin Naughton is fit after missing the last three games due to a calf strain but Rudy Gestede is a doubt because of an ankle injury.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"Hopefully, the virus is not going to get any worse, we've just got to get on with it. Things can always be worse and that's the challenge, we could be losing heading into the second leg with these problems.

"The players have been coming in throughout the day and have trained in different units. I will not know my team until 5pm. At the moment I am just dreading a phone call in the morning from the doctor.

"I will take no risks with any player who is not 100 per cent fit. I have no worries with playing young players and never have done. What worries me more is putting out players who aren't fully fit.

"This means a hell of a lot to the fans who have been through so much over the last few years. It shows how far we've come and how far we're going. It shows the direction we're heading and how hard we've worked.

"Things can always be worse and that's the challenge, we could be losing heading into the second leg with these problems.

"It's a great occasion for the club in the position we're in. I'm trying to focus as much as I can to get this team to Wembley.

"The expectations down there at Cardiff are huge. They've got to get promotion to be successful.I know Malky very well and he's built up a very good squad.

"They have two players in Kenny Miller and Peter Whittingham who I feel should be in the Premier League. I feel being at home gives us the opportunity to be calm. In the second leg the pressure will build up.

"There's no need to open up in the first leg. I've got a bit of experience from playing in the play-offs, most ties get decided in last 25 minutes."

Peter Ramage

"Let's be honest, Cardiff was probably the team that we wanted to face in the next round considering the other two clubs in the draw, but it is still going to be a really tough tie.

"They beat us and beat us well in Cardiff earlier this season, so we know that it is going to be a really hard game, but it is a cup tie and anything can happen, as we proved at Old Trafford.

"It is probably the perfect draw for us, but it will still be an unbelievably hard tie and we aren't going to start booking our tickets for Wembley just yet.

"Obviously, I might not be here for the second leg and final should we get there, but I've really enjoyed my time here and I'd love to help give them something to take to Cardiff with them."

Malky Mackay

"I think we both know each other pretty well in terms of our squads and teams. I think it's going to be a tight affair. Both sets of fans would fancy their chances more than they would against Man City or Liverpool.

"Maybe that's the ideas of the fans. We've got total respect for Crystal Palace and Dougie and his team and know this is going to be a tough, tough game for us.

"We would both, I'm pretty sure, respect each other and know how difficult a game this is going to be.

"At the same time we're both probably delighted that we missed out on Liverpool and Man City. Along with the two or three youngsters they've [Palace] got some experienced guys as well.

"David Wright in midfield is an experienced player, [Kagisho] Dikgacoi as well [and] up-front Glenn Murray [is] another experienced player. I think there's a good blend and that's why they're doing well this season."

Cardiff City - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
3rd	25	12	9	4	45

Full league table

Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
05/11/2011	League	Cardiff City	2 - 0	Crystal Palace
08/03/2011	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 0	Cardiff City
28/09/2010	League	Cardiff City	0 - 0	Crystal Palace
27/03/2010	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 2	Cardiff City
17/10/2009	League	Cardiff City	1 - 1	Crystal Palace

All time results

Last meeting

Cardiff City 2-0 Palace

Saturday November 05 2011

Cardiff City: Heaton, McNaughton, Taylor, Hudson, Turner, Kiss, Whittingham, Cowie, Conway (Mason 82), Gunnarsson (Ralls 76), Miller

Subs not used: Parish, Gerrard, Blake

Goals: Miller 69, Whittingham 80

Bookings: Kiss

Palace: Speroni, Clyne, Wright (Iversen 80), McCarthy, Gardner, Moxey, Dikgacoi (Williams 71), Jedinak, Scannell (Easter 74), Zaha, Murray

Subs not used: Price, Parr

Bookings: Moxey