Crystal Palace vs Stoke: Jack Butland aiming to shine against former club with FA Cup quarter-final spot at stake

Jack Butland will be hoping to make his mark for Crystal Palace against former club Stoke tonight.

The ex-England goalkeeper made his name with the Potters and will face them for the first time since leaving for Selhurst Park in 2020 this evening.

Butland has been Patrick Vieira's cup goalkeeper this season and also come into the Premier League side for the last two games following injury to Vicente Guaita, and has largely impressed when given a chance.

Having tumbled down the pecking order at Stoke before joining Palace for just £1million, Butland will want to remind his former side what he is capable of.

"Jack had a difficult last couple of seasons," said Michael O'Neill, the Stoke manager. "He wasn't in a great place when I came to the club.

"In the off-season Jack made it clear he wanted to leave, he was in the last year of his contract. The opportunity came for him to go to the Premier League.

"It was probably the right thing for everybody at that point in time. We were in the process of scaling back our wage bill. Jack's time at the club overall was very successful."

Victory tonight would see Palace move one game from a Wembley semi-final and Vieira, who won the FA Cup five times as a player at Arsenal, is dreaming of his first title as a manager.

The Frenchman said: "If you can win the FA Cup it will be a dream come true but we are still quite far and there is still a long way to go."

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