FA Cup fifth round as it happened: Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
West Brom 4-0 West Ham
Blackburn 4-1 Stoke City
Derby 1-2 Reading
And we are back underway for the second half. Brendan Rodgers has opted to shake things up by bringing Mario Balotelli on for Lazar Markovic, but it is Palace who create the first chance of the half only for it to be wasted by Jason Puncheon, who fires wildly over the bar moments after replacing Chamakh.
Gayle almost makes it two! Bolasie tries to thread a ball through but it cannons off the shin of Skrtel and into the path of Gayle. The angle is tough, but he gets his low shot off anyway from inside the left of the box, only to be denied by a great save from Mignolet who made himself large as he leapt out of his goal.
Liverpool want a penalty after Sturridge is tripped in the box, but the referee isn't interested and waves play on! It was Soare who appeared to hook his leg around Sturridge who was ready to pounce on a miss-hit clearance and it did lok fairly ominous for Palace at a glance. Liverpool keep on the pressure however and Allen tries his luck with a decent volley from the edge of the box that veers just wide.
Liverpool close again! Another sweeping, slick move from the away side frees Coutinho on the the edge of the box but his low drive is blocked brilliantly by Dann. The ball falls to Ward, who somehow manages to control the ball on his chest while on the ground. Liverpool scream for hand ball, but play is waved on. Coutinho gets another crack but this time Speroni saves comfortably.
Liverpool have two enforced changes with Joe Allen coming in for the injured Steven Gerrard while Jordon Ibe, cup-tied from his showings for Derby County, is replaced by Lallana. Might Rodgers have been tempted to deploy Emre Can there after his powerful performance further up the pitch against Tottenham mid-week? It seems not.
BREAKING: Daniel Sturridge leads Liverpool's attac again this evening with Adam Lallana coming in for the injured Raheem Sterling.
Liverpool team to face Crystal Palace: Mignolet, Skrtel, Can, Sakho, Allen, Henderson, Moreno, Markovic, Coutinho, Lallana, Sturridge
Subs: Ward, Johnson, Lovren, Lambert, Manquillo, Borini, Balotelli
Elsewhere today, West Brom's rise under Tony Pulis continues after the Baggies thrashed West Ham United 4-0 at the Hawthorns. Blackburn are currently handing out a similar beating on Stoke City who trail 4-1 at Ewood Park with Joshua King hitting a hat-trick. Derby and Reading meanwhile are currently tied at 1-1.
Liverpool have visited Crystal Palace twice since the Eagles returned to the top flight in 2013. On both occasions, they've shipped three goals. In a way, the 3-1 thrashing they received earlier this season was far less harrowing than the 3-3 last April, where their title dream crumbled. It is not a place they like going to.
The FA Cup history between these two sides memorably favours Palace, with a 4-3 semi-final victory over the Reds in 1990 one of the most fondly remembered results around south east London. A place in the quarter-finals of the competition is on the line this time around.
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