Patrick Vieira eyes "dream come true" FA Cup ambition and makes key Stoke City point

Patrick Vieria says he hasn’t prepared his Crystal Palace side any differently for Tuesday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Stoke from how he does for Premier League matches.

The Eagles face opponents from a lower division for the third time in succession when they host the Potters at Selhurst Park on Tuesday night, having beaten Championship side Millwall and League Two outfit Hartlepool United in previous rounds.

Despite this, Vieira - a five-time FA Cup winner as a player - says he hasn’t been altering his side’s preparations for their matches in the competition and the players have prepared in the same way they would for a big Premier League game.

Palace will no doubt go into the fixture as the favourites playing in front of their home crowd and with a chance to progress through to the quarter-finals for the second time in the last four seasons.

“There is still a long way to go but the tie is at home and that is massively important,” Vieira told the press on Monday afternoon.

“Regarding the team that we are going to face being in the Premier League or Championship, the difficulty and challenge is still going to be there. There is no easy game in the cup.

“We have to be ready mentally. We have to approach the game with the same mentality and the same competitiveness that we had in the last game in the Premier League. There will be no difference in the way we prepare the game tomorrow.

“It’s a competition we want to do well in and go as far as we can. We have a home tie and it’s an advantage we have to use. We want to go to the next round and I will try to put on the field the best 11 that will allow us to go to the next round.

“Looking at their squad and their 11, they have players with experience who did well in