Both Crystal Palace and Cardiff City sent out weakened teams for their FA Cup ties at the weekend. Unsurprisingly, they both exited the competition.

However, the pair meet in the Carling Cup on Tuesday evening knowing that one of them is just two matches away from a Wembley final against either Liverpool or Manchester City.

Home boss Dougie Freedman may have to wait until the final moments to name his starting lineup for the tie, as a virus is believed to be sweeping through the squad.

All being well, Darren Ambrose, Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray should earn recalls by Freedman.

Dutch striker Rudy Gestede is an injury doubt for visiting Cardiff, while the game may come too soon for full-back Kevin McNaughton.

Current form:

Palace: LWWLWL
Cardiff: WDLDWW

Possible lineups:

Palace: Lewis; Clyne, Parr, Ramage, Martin; Scannell, Ambrose, Garvan, Zaha; Murray, O'Keefe.

Cardiff: Marshall; Taylor, Hudson, Gerrard, Naylor; Whittingham, Cowie, Gunnarsson, Conway; Miller, Gestede.

Sports Mole says: 2-2