Palace lie in wait for Pep's Blues

PEP Guardiola and his inconsistent Manchester City team need to be wary as they head to Sam Allardyce's stuttering Crystal Palace in the FA Cup fourth round.

This month's results tell the tale of City's erratic form, with Guardiola's men cruising to a 5-0 win at West Ham United in the FA Cup third round, only to then crash to a 4-0 Premier League defeat at Everton.

FORM

They appeared to have found form again last weekend, going 2-0 up at home to in-form Tottenham Hotspur, but conceded two second-half goals to draw 2-2.

"We must be mentally strong," City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo told the club website.

"We must keep working hard, keep believing in what we're doing. It's the only recipe.

"It's not a good feeling looking at how things developed (against Tottenham).

"We had everything to win the game, but it's the same old story: we had troubles creating chances and the other team, with less options, get the goals."

City won 2-1 on their last trip to Selhurst Park in November, but it took an 83rd-minute goal by Yaya Toure for the visitors to prevail.

Allardyce is yet to make his mark as manager of Palace, whose 2-1 third-round win over Bolton Wanderers is the only game they have won since he succeeded Alan Pardew as manager in late December.

But they were unfortunate to lose 1-0 at home to Everton last weekend, Seamus Coleman netting an 87th-minute winner despite Palace debutant Jeff Schlupp being down injured and a hint of offside.

WEEKEND FA Cup fixtures (3pm kick-offs unless stated) -

TONIGHT: Derby v Leicester (7.55pm).

TOMORROW: Liverpool v Wolves (12.30pm); Blackburn v Blackpool,;Burnley v Bristol City; Chelsea v Brentford; Crystal Palace v MAN CITY; Lincoln v Brighton, Middlesbrough v Accrington; Oxford v Newcastle; Rochdale v Huddersfield; Spurs v Wycombe; S'hampton v Arsenal (5.30pm).

SUNDAY: Millwall v Watford (noon); Fulham v Hull (12.30pm); Sutton Utd v Leeds (2pm); MAN UTD v Wigan (4pm).