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Cape Town - Crystal Palace are looking to put their shocking league form behind them when they take on Reading in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the Madejski Stadium on Friday.
In team news, Alan Pardew will be expecting to have goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey shake off a knock in time to start, but doubts remain over Yohan Cabaye (knock) and Connor Wickham (hip/thigh), while the match will come too soon for Marouane Chamakh (knee), James McArthur (ankle), Jason Puncheon (hamstring), and Kwesi Appiah (anterior cruciate ligament).
Palace have failed to win in their last 12 Premier League matches, including eight defeats, to slip down to 15th in the standings.
The only joy for Eagles fans this year has been their performances in the cup, with wins over Southampton, Stoke City and, most recently, their fifth-round victory of Tottenham.
While the Palace manager will be desperate to turn their league form around before relegation becomes a worry, their position in the last eight of the cup gives them a chance for some rare silverware, and could provide the confidence boost to to get them back into top form.
Reading have reached this stage of the competition thanks to their 3-1 success over West Brom in the previous round, which was followed by wins against Rotherham United and Charlton Athletic in the Championship.
However, those back-to-back league victories were followed by a 2-2 draw with Fulham last weekend before a 3-1 loss to Huddersfield Town on Tuesday, meaning that the Royals enter the match on the back of a disappointing defeat.
