Crystal Palace news: Opinion – Carabao Cup tie ‘everything for Eagles fans’

It has been 13 years since Crystal Palace made it to the League Cup quarter-finals. On that occasion it was a famous victory at Old Trafford for the then Championship team. A memorable Darren Ambrose goal from long range sits high in the list of those in club history.

Only four players involved in that game remain at the club. One of them that started that game is still on the pitch. Nathaniel Clyne, then a promising, homegrown 20-year-old right-back is now a 33-year-old veteran who returned four years ago. With Daniel Munoz suspended, he may be playing once again.

Dougie Freedman is now a sporting director rather than a fledgling manager elsewhere. Paddy McCarthy and Julian Speroni are on the coaching staff of the first team and academy respectively.

This is the eighth time the club has reached this stage of the competition since it started in 1960. On four occasions, the team advanced and was defeated over two legs in the semi-finals, but the final continued to escape them.

Wednesday may just be another match for Arsenal, and with a title challenge, FA Cup and European campaign among their priorities, that is justified. For Palace fans, with their club still seeking a cup victory, ending the wait would be everything.

The turnaround in Premier League fortunes certainly helps, and an emphatic victory at rivals Brighton lifted the club further from the bottom three and alleviated some pressure before a double-header of fixtures against Arsenal.

After a run of games primarily against teams higher in the table, the team has had to weather the storm for periods in matches while defending and relying on their pace to break forward and counter – with some success.

Palace fans hope that strategy will succeed once again on Wednesday night.

Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast, external