Key events
Here’s some half-time reading on the team most still consider favourites to lift the FA Cup. Can the cup save Pep Guardiola this season?
Time for me to grab a half-time cuppa while you all feast on the highlights of that first half.
Back shortly.
HT: Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace.
There was a stat doing the rounds a week or two ago that Eberechi Eze had underperformed his xG figure by a greater amount than anyone else in the Premier League. Well, there’s been nothing about his performance today so far that hasn’t delivered. He’s been magical.
The England international has scored one and set one up and Palace have a 2-0 lead that, frankly, seemed impossible after about half an hour of this game. Fulham’s dominance has dissipated and they face a tall order to get back in the cup tie now.
Advantage south London.
We’re into first half added time as Palace line up another free-kick. Lacroix meets it but heads straight at Leno.
44 mins: Wharton’s name is now being sung by the Palace fans after a neat piece of play in midfield, which sets up the visitors to go on the attack again.
You do wonder if the ex-Blackburn man might have been sent off for that incident with Muniz – and how different this game might be now, had that happened.
41 mins: Where do Fulham go from here? They probably need the break and a few words of wisdom from Marco Silva.
39 mins: Fulham looked a bit shellshocked after conceding and Palace smelled blood. The home fans are stunned into silence, they cannot believe their team are two down.
GOAL! Fulham 0-2 Crystal Palace (Sarr, 38)
Bang, bang, it’s Palace again. Utterly clinical from the visitors and this one has been set up by Eze.
Ismaïla Sarr got himself in front of Bassey and guided a clever near-post header into the net. Wow.
36 mins: This is a huge test for Fulham now. They’ve clearly been the better side in this game but failed to create anything clearcut … now they must respond and fast.
GOAL! Fulham 0-1 Crystal Palace (Eze, 34)
Quality from Ebere Eze!
He scored his first England goal in the week and now, after Fulham’s defenders back off him, the Palace playmaker curls in an absolute pearler to break the deadlock in this key FA Cup tie – and it’s against the run of play really.
32 mins: Henderson gets a little lucky after a poor piece of handling, but there was a slightly collision with Muniz and the referee’s whistle signals a Palace free-kick.
30 mins: A hopeful lump forward by Andersen is well won – again, Fulham snapping far quicker onto the loose balls – and the hosts have regained a little control again.
27 mins: Has that moment injected a little more confidence into this Palace team? They’re the side on the attack now.
26 mins: Goodness me, what a volley from Lerma! After Fulham half-clear from a free-kick it lands kindly for Lerma to whack it goalwards – and his shot thunders off the woodwork. The crossbar is still shaking.
24 mins: VAR have taken a look at Wharton’s actions but decide to leave it there, with no red car. I think the Palace midfielder is a tad fortunate.
23 mins: Muniz is down writhing around in pain, with Wharton again the culprit. There are a few handbags between Wharton and Andersen afterwards, with the Fulham centre-back unhappy with the tackle.
Oooh, Wharton kicked out at Muniz. A bit naughty.
21 mins: A heavy touch from Pereira brings a promising Fulham counterattack to a thudding halt. The hosts need to make the most of their dominance here.
19 mins: Wharton, who was booked earlier for that tackle on Pereira, is brave and robs Iwobi of possession … but Palace give it away in midfield for the umpteenth time already and a chaotic passage ends with Pereira steering a left-footed shot just wide.
17 mins: Fulham put in a succession of crosses, the last of which from Robinson is hooked too close to Henderson, who catches under little pressure.
16 mins: The atmosphere is really good at Craven Cottage today. The best I’ve heard it in a good while.
14 mins: Glasner is deep in discussion with his coaching staff on the sideline. He can’t be too happy with Crystal Palace so far, although Sarr bursts down the right and squares for Mateta, before Berge intercepts.
Palace have their first corner of the afternoon … which is almost turned in by Mateta after the knockdown from Lacroix. Leno gathers in the end. Better from the visitors.
11 mins: It’s still one-way traffic at the Cottage, with the home side slowing the pace down a little as they probe for an opening.
Andersen shoots from the edge of the box and wins another corner as a sprawling Lerma makes the block.
9 mins: Sarr concedes a corner after Willian tries to tee up Robinson with a lovely cushioned touch from the left wing. Fulham still on top, as Bassey is denied at the back post.
8 mins: Willian is now 36, he left Fulham last year to join Olympiacos and has come back, broken back into the side and become one of Fulham’s key players again. He’s playing on the left and combining well with Pereira.
6 mins: Marco Silva’s most marginal selection call was probably to pick Muniz over Raul Jimenez, given the Mexican has been getting the nod most of the time in the Premier League.
Muniz has been sharp so far though.
5 mins: Fulham just look that bit livelier at the moment and they’ve been quicker to the second balls for sure. Wharton trips Pereira to concede a free-kick and the former Manchester United man plays it short, before Palace clear.
3 mins: Muniz slips one just wide after wriggling away from a couple of defenders in impressive fashion. Decent chance, that.
2 mins: It’s a fairly confident start from Fulham in possession. I like the way Calvin Bassey strides out of his position slightly to the left of defence.
KICK OFF
Let’s do this. We’ve had flags being waved, balloons bouncing around in the stands and plenty of noise from both sets of supporters.
Right let’s get our FA Cup quarter-final weekend on.
“Every team left in this competition will believe they can win it,” chimes Ally McCoist on the ITV comms mic. Too right. The teams are out.
I’d love someone to explain the 12.15pm kick-off time of this game. It’s not like the Sheffield derby or the Old Firm where it’s scheduled early to reduce pre-match drinking, but I guess neither fanbase has too far to travel so it’s far less of a concern than when, say, Bournemouth are given a 12.30pm game away at Newcastle. OK, maybe I don’t have too many gripes after all.
An email from Martin Brown:
Worth noting the small story of [Joachim] Andersen. He moved to Fulham but made clear this was against his own wishes, he loved it at Palace. As a Palace fan I can see him scoring!
He’s a quality player for sure, Martin. I would think a goal from him is rather unlikely though, if I can allay your fears somewhat.
Oliver Glasner has been getting chatty with the ITV pundits on the resplendent Craven Cottage turf before kick-off.
🗣️ “Palace are very patient with their players, I think it’s the right step for young players.” 🦅
🗣️ “[Wharton] is such an amazing football player.” ✨
🗣️ “[Mateta] is such a lovely guy.” ❤️
Oliver Glasner joins us ahead of kickoff at Craven Cottage #FACup | #CPFC pic.twitter.com/OyK7IkZ0ac
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 29, 2025
Some reading around the weekend’s other FA Cup quarter-finals:
Palace have won 10 of their past 13 matches in all competitions, which is absolutely remarkable. Especially so considering they started the season really poorly, failing to win any of their first eight Premier League games.
From a Crystal Palace perspective, it’s refreshing to see Jean-Philippe Mateta back in the starting lineup after suffering a lacerated ear in a clash with Millwall’s Liam Roberts in the FA Cup fifth round.
Mateta will lead the line in a virtually full strength Eagles side, flanked by Ebere Eze and Ismaïla Sarr, with Oliver Glasner opting for Jefferson Lerma in the engine room with Will Hughes absent through illness. There’s a lot to like about that Palace lineup – and they’ve got a strong away record of late, including a 2-0 win at Fulham on 22 February.
Fulham fan Richard Hirst, presumably emailing in from south western France, is feeling the tension ahead of kick-off:
“Lots of nerves and tension in SW France as well as SW6. But I’m confident (who am I kidding!) that we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our first cup final with a return visit. COYW.”
Team news
Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Willian, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz.
Subs: Benda, Diop, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Reed, Cairney, Smith Rowe, Traoré, Jiménez.
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Muñoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell; Lerma, Wharton; Sarr, Eze, Mateta.
Subs: Turner, Clyne, Franca, Kamada, Nketiah, Esse, Chilwell, Devenny, Kporha.
It’s a beautiful sunny morning in west London and Craven Cottage, though not renowned for its rocking atmosphere, should be bang up for this one. The prize of a Wembley appearance for these two clubs is a biggie.
Preamble
It’s FA Cup quarter-final weekend, with the first of these four slightly unlikely ties – Manchester City apart – coming in the form of a London derby at Craven Cottage. Fulham and Crystal Palace are both chasing history in this competition this season, having never lifted the cup. Palace came close nearly a decade ago in that 2016 final against Manchester United, (Alan Pardew’s dance, Jesse Lingard’s goal and all that) while it’s been 50 years since Fulham last got all the way to a Wembley showpiece. One of them is guaranteed a semi-final trip to north London at least.
Jean-Philippe Mateta looks set to make his return after suffering a nasty head injury in Palace’s previous FA Cup game against Millwall, with both teams fortunate enough to have come through the international break without a long list of absentees.
This is a really tough one to call, but should be uber-competitive: you’d have to go a fair distance to find two sets of supporters who are more up for the cup. Kick off is at 12.15pm GMT, so let’s get going – team news will be upon us shortly.
