Crystal Palace vs Grimsby Town
FA Cup 2018-19
Venue: Selhurst Park
Date: Saturday, 5 January, 2019
Kick-off: 5:30pm GMT
Crystal Palace will kick-start their FA Cup campaign when they host League Two Grimsby Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The Eagles, beaten finalists in 2016, could well do with a Cup run in south London after a season and a half of underwhelming League football.
This hosts will, at least, be hoping for an improvement on last season when their journey was over in the third round, losing away to rivals Brighton.
Team news
Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke has returned to training following his knee injury, but amid their frustrating pursuit of a striker he is not yet fit enough to start.
Despite his prior lack of goals Palace have struggled in Benteke's absence this season - he has been unavailable since September 1 - forcing them to explore their options in the transfer market.
Score prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Grimsby
It's an ideal fixture for Roy Hodgson to make a few changes to his side; Palace should have more than enough in them to see off fourth-tier opposition.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Palace to win: 2/13
- Grimsby to win: 22/1
- Draw: 13/2
First goalscorer odds
- Connor Wickham: 7/2
- Jordan Ayew: 4/1
- Andros Townsend: 5/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet
TV channel and live stream online coverage
The match will not be available to watch live in the UK.
But you can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
There have been 40 meetings between these two sides over the years with the record a fairly tight one; Palace have 21 wins to Grimsby’s 16.
Palace were comfortable winners last time they met, returning to the capital with a 4-1 in in 2003.
