Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has ignored Sam Allardyce's suggestion that Crystal Palace will not put up a fight in this weekend's Premier League match at St James' Park.

Sunderland boss Allardyce claimed that Palace might not be at the races this weekend after beating Watford at Wembley last Sunday to secure their place in the FA Cup final.

Allardyce said that if he were a betting man, he would put his money on Newcastle to beat the Eagles as the Palace players would have been "on the pop" since reaching the final.

"I don't bet," Benitez told reporters. "Obviously I agree we have to win. In my experience, it's the players who make the difference, not the managers. I can prepare for the game, but to talk about mind games, I don't take too much notice."

Benitez did, however, admit that some of Alan Pardew's players may have the cup final at the back of their minds.

He added: "Everybody knows what it means to play in that final. When you are there, you have to be careful. I don't see any player saying 'I don't care about the final'. I am sure they will be thinking about it.

"It's normal when you're in the final. Players are thinking if they pick up an injury, they can't play, so it's in the back of their heads."

Newcastle are 19th in the table with three matches to go, one point behind both Sunderland and Norwich City above them.