South London derby rivals Crystal Palace and Millwall will square off at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon for the 100th time in all competitions, with a trip to the FA Cup quarterfinals on the line.
To go thus far, the Eagles defeated Doncaster Rovers 2-0, and their second-tier visitors defeated Championship rivals Leeds United by the same score on the road.
Eagles manager Oliver Glasner has not been scared to go tough against lower-league opponents thus far, and his reward has been two victories and two clean sheets en route to the round of 16. It appears that Glasner views FA Cup triumph as a realistic goal for this Crystal Palace team.
In 2004, Millwall reached the FA Cup final but were defeated 3-0 by a Manchester United team featuring a young Cristiano Ronaldo at the Millennium Stadium. Since that loss, the Lions have only advanced past the fifth round of the FA Cup on three occasions.
This season, however, progressing beyond the third round marked Millwall’s best performance in the competition in four years. Now, they are just one match away from reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2018-19 season, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Neil’s team capitalized on Leeds United’s decision to rotate their squad for the fourth-round clash, as the Whites focused on their Premier League promotion campaign. Femi Azeez’s brace secured a victory for Millwall at Elland Road, though this triumph was quickly overshadowed by a heavy 5-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in the Championship just four days later.
Since then, Millwall have regained some stability in the second tier, recording consecutive 1-1 draws against West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End. They followed this with a narrow 1-0 win over Derby on February 22, thanks to Josh Coburn’s dramatic winner in the fifth minute of added time.
Despite their recent form, Millwall face a daunting challenge. Their last FA Cup away victory against a top-flight team came 30 years ago, when they stunned Arsenal with a 2-0 win in 1995. More recently, in the 2021-22 season, they were eliminated in the third round by Crystal Palace, who secured a 2-1 victory inspired by Michael Olise.
Crystal Palace may not have dominated either Stockport County or Doncaster Rovers, but Glasner’s squad displayed professionalism in their February 10 clash with the latter, securing a comfortable 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Daniel Munoz and Justin Devenny.
Saturday’s fixture marks just the second time in six seasons that Palace have reached the FA Cup fifth round, but history is on their side. They have won their last three ties at this stage since falling to Liverpool a decade ago.
As semi-finalists in the 2021-22 campaign, Palace have plenty of reason to believe they can avoid a similar fate this time. Their emphatic 4-1 triumph over Champions League contenders Aston Villa was their fourth victory in five matches and their eighth in the last 11.
Additionally, Palace have a strong record against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup, having lost just once in their last 10 such encounters—a shock third-round exit to Derby County in the 2019-20 tournament.
Millwall, FA Cup finalists in 2004 when they were defeated 3-0 by a Manchester United squad featuring a young Cristiano Ronaldo, have only advanced past the fifth round on three occasions since that loss at the Millennium Stadium.
However, even making it beyond the third round this season marks their best FA Cup run in four years. Now, the Lions stand just 90 minutes away from their first quarter-final appearance since the pre-pandemic 2018-19 season.
